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."

In the study, a print speed of 20mm/s was achieved, which is similar to conventional additive layer techniques. The researchers have now shown the ability to assemble a plane of fibres into a reinforcement framework. The precise orientation of the fibres can be controlled by switching the ultrasonic standing wave pattern mid-print.

This approach allows the realisation of complex fibrous architectures within a 3D printed object. The versatile nature of the ultrasonic manipulation technique also enables a wide-range of particle materials, shapes and sizes to be assembled, leading to the creation of a new generation of fibrous reinforced composites that can be 3D printed.

Bruce Drinkwater, Professor of Ultrasonics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: "Our work has shown the first example of 3D printing with real-time control over the distribution of an internal microstructure and it demonstrates the potential to produce rapid prototypes with complex microstructural arrangements. This orientation control gives us the ability to produce printed parts with tailored material properties, all without compromising the printing."

Dr Richard Trask, Reader in Multifunctional Materials in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, added: "As well as offering reinforcement and improved strength, our method will be useful for a range of smart materials applications, such as printing resin-filled capsules for self-healing materials or piezoelectric particles for energy harvesting."

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Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Bristol. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Thomas M Llewellyn-Jones, Bruce W Drinkwater, Richard S Trask. 3D printed components with ultrasonically arranged microscale structure. Smart Materials and Structures, 2016; 25 (2): 02LT01 DOI:10.1088/0964-1726/25/2/02LT01

Printing the future | sci-english.blogspot.com

3D printing may be the way mass manufacture is going, but it is also bringing out the artisan in all of us. Tim Dean looks at some of the many ways we can use this new technology. 

One moment it’s an image on a screen, the next it’s an object in your hands – today’s 3D printers make Star Trek gadgets look tame. 
Futuristic as they are, they are also taking us back to a time when individuals were able to craft their own designs. While conventional manufacturing excels at churning out mountains of identical objects, 3D printing gives today’s artisans free reign.
Here are some examples. But this is just the beginning – 3D printing is limited only by our imaginations.

Bespoke bike | sci-english.blogspot.com

Bespoke bike

Every body is different. So wouldn’t it be great if your bike were tailored to yours? Matthew Andrew, owner and designer at Flying Machine in Perth, can oblige. He teamed up with the CSIRO’s Lab 22 to produce a prototype bike, above, with 3D-printed titanium parts that can be tailored to the customer’s size.
“The customer is measured up. It’s similar to buying a tailored suit. You just can’t do that with traditional manufacturing,” says Andrew.
He is already taking orders. Prices will be around $3,000 for the frame, making the bikes a premium option but by no means the most expensive on the market.

Anatomy in print |

Anatomy in print

Most people don’t appreciate being poked, prodded and dissected, so anatomy classes typically use cadavers. But they’re not easy to come by. They require expensive treatment to keep them preserved and many places restrict their use. Enter 3D printed body parts.
Paul McMenamin, director of the Centre for Human Anatomy Education at Monash University, and colleagues have scanned some of the best preserved specimens in their collection and reproduced them using a 3D printer. The results are highly detailed, accurate in terms of colour, odour free and far less expensive than plastic-impregnated “plastinated” specimens, such as those seen in the Body Worlds exhibition.
Even experienced surgeons are using these 3D-printed models, like the one pictured above, to perfect delicate operations before attempting them in the operating theatre.

Home is where you print it |

Home is where you print it

3D printing can make big objects too. In early 2014 WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co. in China built several houses outside Shanghai using an enormous 3D printer, as seen above. This changed the building method – these houses did not rise from the ground in the conventional manner. Rather, the basic structural elements were printed using an automated gantry arm to extrude a mixture of high grade concrete and glass fibre. The parts were then assembled. The company’s aim is to build up to 10 houses a day at a cost of around $5,000 each.
A similar demonstration is slowly taking shape in Amsterdam at the 3D Print Canal House, led by DUS architects. Instead of concrete, DUS is using a custom granular plastic made from 80% vegetable oil that melts at 170°C. An oversized 3D printer called KamerMaker (or “room builder”) melts the plastic and extrudes it layer by layer to form the structural elements, which can also have cosmetic elements built in.
The lessons learnt from the project will inform 3D-printed house designs around the world.

Printing in the air

Objects built to fly need to be lightweight, strong and constructed to an exacting level of precision. These properties can readily be delivered by 3D printing, which is one reason the aerospace industry has been among the first to embrace the technology.
Airbus recently teamed up with German company Concept Laser to develop 3D-printed titanium parts, above, for its next generation A350 XWB passenger jet. One part is a complex fuel pipe that normally requires 10 individual components to be welded together. The 3D-printed version merged all 10 parts into one, no welding required. The end result is quicker to build, weighs less and costs only a fraction of the conventionally made part.