Monday, September 19, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
materialsscienceandengineering: It’s a 3-D printer, but not as we know it3D printing techniques...
materialsscienceandengineering:
It’s a 3-D printer, but not as we know it
3D printing techniques have quickly become some of the most widely used tools to rapidly design and build new components. A team of engineers at the University of Bristol has developed a new type of 3D printing that can print composite materials, which are used in many high performance products such as tennis rackets, golf clubs and aeroplanes. This technology will soon enable a much greater range of things to be 3D printed at home and at low-cost.
The study published in Smart Materials and Structures creates and demonstrates a novel method in which ultrasonic waves are used to carefully position millions of tiny reinforcement fibres as part of the 3D printing process. The fibres are formed into a microscopic reinforcement framework that gives the material strength. This microstructure is then set in place using a focused laser beam, which locally cures the epoxy resin and then prints the object.
To achieve this the research team mounted a switchable, focused laser module on the carriage of a standard three-axis 3D printing stage, above the new ultrasonic alignment apparatus.
Tom Llewellyn-Jones, a PhD student in advanced composites who developed the system, said: “We have demonstrated that our ultrasonic system can be added cheaply to an off-the-shelf 3D printer, which then turns it into a composite printer.”
Weird
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Sunday, February 14, 2016
additivism: Can Physicists Prove to Engineers That 3D-Printed...
Can Physicists Prove to Engineers That 3D-Printed Metal Parts Are Safe?
There’s no denying that 3D printing is a fast and effective way to build new objects, but most engineers are taking tentative steps to its mass adoption because the results aren’t proven to be truly robust. Now, physicists hope to convince them once and for all.
I could believe in 3D printed metal…
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Friday, November 20, 2015
materialsscienceandengineering: Researchers use 3D printer to make new materialsMissouri...
materialsscienceandengineering:
Researchers use 3D printer to make new materials
Missouri University of Science and Technology scientists are developing additive manufacturing (AM) technology to create improved metals.
According to the researchers, the new materials could be stronger and lighter than conventional ones, which could make manufacturing more efficient and cheaper.
Dr Frank Liou and Dr Jagannanthan Sarangapani received a US$146,758 grant from the National Science Foundation to support their research, which uses AM process modeling, sensor network and process integration.
The structural amorphous metals (SAMs) are made through cyber-enabled additive manufacturing. Researchers us a laser to melt blown powder metal, which is deposited layer by layer to create whatever object is programmed into their computers. The aim is to get the cooling rate correct so that the metal is amorphous, instead of at the natural state of crystalline formation.
Because they’re random, SAMs are reportedly harder, stronger and have more fracture toughness than metals in their natural state. While a crystalline metal will break along its orderly cellular structure, an amorphous metal has no pattern and thus will resist breaking.
Crazy new application of 3D printing.
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