AHFE Open AccessAdditive Manufacturing, Modeling Systems and 3D Prototyping
Editors: Emilio Rossi, Massimo Di Nicolantonio
Topics: Smart Manufacturing and 3D Prototyping
Publication Date: 2022
ISBN: 978-1-958651-10-0
DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001582
Articles
Design and Production of Hybrid Products
Injection moulding (IM) is a well-known and widely employed fabrication process, which allows the production of versatile and lightweight parts, with precise dimensional tolerance. Multi-material and multi-component products are achieved by means of process variations of the conventional IM. Although the resulting products present combined properties and functionalities, the available techniques require specific machinery and complex tooling design. This paper presents a new processing approach, based in a hybrid method, for the fabrication of multi-material products, with enhanced functionality, based in the combination of IM with additive manufacturing (AM) technologies by means of overmoulding process.
Álvaro M. Sampaio, André Lima, Catia Silva, Ana Catarina Martins Miranda, António J. Pontes
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
A Systematic Literature Review and Prospects for the Additive Manufacturing in the Creative Industries
In the Creative Industries (CI), Additive Manufacturing is one of the new areas of investigation and without doubt has the potential for disruptive innovation capable to transform the traditional manufacturing paradigm and increase the largely accepted and required shift towards the design, conceptualisation, and adoption of sustainable Additive Manufacturing (AM) process. The objective of this study is to conduct a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to identify and describe different publications that can contribute to additive manufacturing in the creative industry’s knowledge base. The purpose is to identify the publication trends that largely explain the adoption the additive manufacturing in the manufacturing process of handicraft industry product literature through the description of the main discourse rising newly in the field. This research contributes to filling the gap in terms of SLR on the importance of CI and AM for industrial development conducted by bibliometric analysis. The results of this systematic review revealed that: notwithstanding the increasing concern about the growth of the CI, issues related to product innovation and technological development of the industries are understudied; there is promising literature for the development of contextual creative industry practice which researchers are dedicating their works. However, a further focus of research on the fashion, textile, architecture, sculpture, and archeological sites has emerged in the more specialised literature.
Oluwayemisi Adebola Abisuga, Deon De Beer
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
DESK M.A.T.E.: Rapid Prototyped Desk for Teaching in Developing Countries and Emergency Situations
Issue of schooling in developing countries and in areas experiencing emergency conditions represents an important opportunity for the design research community. Contributing to the pupil’s growth, education and development, and increasing their potential, is part of the objectives of the human rights treaties, the United Nations Charter, and the values of the UN Convention about children’s rights. Disadvantaged communities require smart design interventions, sustainable and inclusive strategies, aimed at defining original and functional solutions, with account of the context, how these artefacts can be manage with respect to social, cultural and environmental backgrounds. Communities must look to the improvement of knowledge that goes from the aid of available or new technologies, the possibility of supplying and processing raw materials, know-how related to self-production, management, waste disposal; bad waste management in developing countries and in countries that are in emergency conditions represents one of the main problems that require clear lines of action to reduce the environmental impacts. Among the possible interventions, this research explored the concept of 3D rapid prototyping of sustainable furniture for teaching in developing countries and emergency situations – DESK M.A.T.E., which considers diversified insights from the student community ranging from 6 to 18 years, as well as elements from ergonomics, safety, and hygiene domains. It also brings attention on the purchasing factors affecting the school furnishing in these areas, which are almost exclusively guaranteed by humanitarian associations. Specifically, this paper focused on using natural fibres and vegetable resins, CNC (Computer Numerical Control) production processes, to adhere with the circular economic models.The result presented in the paper provides evidence and validity on the use of rapid prototyping technologies for sustainable design and production, as well as evidence on the development of intelligent solutions adaptable to those situational conditions affected by negative circumstances, with the aim of opening up to new research avenues for the design community.
Massimo Di Nicolantonio, Emilio Rossi, Alessio D'Onofrio, Raffaella Massacesi
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
'3D-Printed Inclusive Modular System for Underprivileged Communities
The term ‘underprivileged communities’ describes groups of people experiencing some form of restrictions, such as economic, social, and political, which later lead to producing extensive forms of social exclusion. Although this phenomenon is mainly visible in crisis scenarios (i.e.: refugee camps), or emerging countries (i.e.: slums), some relevant examples can also be found in western countries. Accordingly, horizontal interdisciplinary socio-economic factors may produce remarkable disabling conditions affecting communities and producing non-inclusive situations for present and future generations.Unprivileged communities require intensive design interventions, from services to products, from housing to logistics, from shared goods to networked systems. Therefore, the design research community can start using unprivileged communities as a testing ground to experiment sustainable-based and inclusive-oriented design strategies to improve the quality of life of people living at the margin of society, as well as providing original solutions to improve the economic, social, and environmental qualities of such living ecosystems.Among the possible interventions, we explored the concept of ‘Inclusive 3D Printing’ by applying recent theories developed within Sustainable 3D Printing studies. Thus, an inclusive 3D-printed modular system for unprivileged communities is presented and discussed as the result of a rigorous research process connecting the main data found within the socio-economic literature with promising design trajectories and experimentations allowed using this new manufacturing technology. The design results presented in the paper provide evidence and validity on the use of sustainable 3D printing to design smart solutions, alongside initial reflections on the design opportunities to make a change, beyond mainstream markets.Discussions and considerations are provided to reinforce the need to work holistically and through interdisciplinary design approaches to opening new research avenues for the design community.
Emilio Rossi, Massimo Di Nicolantonio, Alessio D'Onofrio, Raffaella Massacesi
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
FlexKeys: Rapidly Customizable 3D Printed Tactile Input Devices with No Assembly Required
Physical input devices serve as a tactile interface between users and computing systems. These devices are often complex assemblies that consist of both electrical and mechanical components making customization difficult and out of reach for non-engineers. While these components can now be 3D printed on demand, they must still be independently designed and assembled. We present FlexKeys, an approach in which devices that include both electrical and deformable components can be created in a single print on a multi-material 3D printer, requiring no assembly. Designers can customize devices including the input type, travel distance and layout of keys, textures of surfaces, and route all electrical signals directly to a microcontroller socket. In many instances, these devices require no support material, producing a functional device the moment a print finishes. We demonstrate this approach by creating a customized keyboard and report on validation measurements of individual input keys as well as highlighting additional designs. This work provides the first step towards lowering the barrier to entry for non-engineers to design custom tactile inputs, enabling occupational and physical therapists, clinicians, and educators to design and create devices directly based on their assessments of individual user needs.
Ben Greenspan, Eric Gallo, Andreea Danielescu
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
The Influence of Filament Type and Number of Layers on Mechanical Resistance: Contributions for the Development of 3D Printed Prosthesis
3D printing has revolutionized the product development process in several areas including the healthcare field. In the context of assistive technologies, one of the main contributions includes personalizing the design of devices such as prostheses and orthotics. Assistive devices with personalized design may benefit users' acceptance and engagement to use, thus contributing to reducing product abandonment. Many studies have reported on the application of 3D printing (mainly FFF technology) in the design of prosthetics and orthotics, with a wide variation of filament materials and printing parameters. Understanding how these influence the mechanical resistance of the printed piece is therefore important as it may support the decision regarding the most appropriate printing parameters. This study was aimed at evaluating the mechanical properties of different types of filament and printing parameters applied in the manufacturing of 3D printed upper limb prosthesis. For this purpose, specimens were 3D printed in accordance with the international ASTM standards in six different conditions, varying the filament material (ABS, PLA and PETG) and number of layers (3 and 5). The specimens were subjected to mechanical tests to evaluate the flexural resistance and tensile strength. The results indicate that the mechanical performance of the parts was influenced by both the type of material and the number of layers, and PLA demonstrated higher mechanical properties compared to PETG and ABS. This study contributes to the design of 3D printed prosthetics by providing information that may support decision about filament type and printing parameters.
Amanda Coelho Figliolia, Erica Tobaro, Gilberto Gonçalves, Hamilton Mello, Frode Eika Sandnes, Fausto Orsi Medola
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Generative Design and 3D Printing to Develop a Hi-tech Cartesian Cutting Machine for Non-metallic Materials
This paper describes the development of a Hi-tech Cartesian cutting machine for non-metallic materials in the laser converting field. The challenge stands in developing a better machine than the existing ones by speeding up the cutting process, allowing more formats of the material to cut and increasing versatility to better respond to different applications. Since extremely high accelerations, specific materials, sophisticated component shapes, critical mechanical properties, etc., are involved and required, state-of-the-art design tools, belonging to the collaborative design paradigm, come in real help to actors owning different competencies. Generative design allows defining the components of the core of the machine and 3D printing helps in evaluating the results in terms of dimensions, assembly, workspaces, etc. Other than starting to reach the expected result, this study highlights the added value of the design tools involved as well as some limitations and related expectations about possible upgrades of them in the future.
Stefano Filippi, Franco Zuliani, Francisco Daniel Montoya Buteler
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Development of an Information Model for the Pre-process of Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing has a variety of benefits that make it an exciting alternative to conventional manufacturing processes. For example, it is possible to manufacture customized, small volume parts with complex geometry in a short time to market. This ensures a steadily growing spread of additive manufacturing beyond its use in prototyping. However, it is difficult for additive manufacturing to compete with conventional manufacturing processes in terms of cost with growing batch sizes.The additive manufacturing process has to be optimized to improve economic efficiency while maintaining or increasing part quality. One approach is focusing on the pre-process. The AM pre-process comprises the determination of part orientation, the setting of manufacturing parameters, and the toolpath generation. Since all decisions made during this process step affect the subsequent manufacturing process, there is a lot of optimization potential.This paper develops an information model of the AM pre-process to map all information and its complex interdependencies. Therefore, a process model is developed and used to determine all input and output information describing the process steps and their relation to other process steps. It is tested for validation by performing the AM pre-process steps with a demonstrator part, ensuring all relevant information can be represented in the information model.
Fabian Arnold, Slim Krückemeier, Reiner Anderl
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Design and Manufacturing Considerations of a Constant-Force Mechanism for Low Force Regimes
The evolution of rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing technologies has triggered the return of constant-force mechanisms (CFMs) among trending research topics over the past decade. Moreover, CFMs represent functional, cost-efficient alternatives to more complicated force sensing setups widely used in precision manipulation systems. Delivering essentially constant force response over a prescribed displacement range solely due to their mechanical structure, CFMs lend themselves towards a damage-free interaction between actuators and their environment. Mechanical overload protection may be granted to robot end-effectors, with CFMs compensating for absent or costly force feedback. Targeting low forces such as those typically required in the biomedical sector has proven problematic due to the increased relative impact of friction during operation. This effort proposes a low force device which also acts as a safety release mechanism. Intended for oropharyngeal swabbing, the design employs standard mechanical components and 3D printed fixtures, thusly distinguishing itself from compliant mechanism counterparts, more sensitive to manufacturing tolerances.This paper encompasses the mathematical modeling of a curved surface which engages rollers, in turn connected to compression springs. The tailored use of bearings and contact surface materials reduces the impact of friction on the response. The formulation of the curve is also valid for forces far above the goal and may be used as a design guide for parabolic rolling. After numerically validating the mathematical model, a prototype was manufactured and tested. The repeated testing of the physical setup exhibited a maximum deviation of within +/- 13% from the 1 N target force. The findings are subsequently leveraged towards a case study of a hand-held throat swabbing device, manufactured and successfully tested within patient-acceptable swabbing force ranges.The presented procedure is helpful as a design guide for creating constant force mechanisms targeting low forces, manufactured from 3D printed parts and off-the-shelf mechanical components.
Andrei Alexandru Popa, Olgierd Krzysztof Nowakowski, Andreas Holmetoft Lyder, Lars Duggen
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
Fatigue Life Improvement in Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Stainless Steel via Electropolishing
Additive manufacturing of metallic components with industrial-grade materials has shown great progress, but still face several challenges. In the present study the use of electropolishing to improve the surface finish of parts generated via laser powder bed fusion in stainless steel 316L is explored. A thorough assessment of the impact of the before-mentioned post-processing techniques on the fatigue life of the components was performed. Fatigue testing was conducted via rotating cantilever bar with solid samples and samples with lattice structures with strut sizes in 250 and 500 m. The stress amplitude for fatigue testing is set at 70% of the ultimate tensile strength of the samples. Considering 5 replications of each testing condition, the electropolishing surface treatment improves the average fatigue life from 20.5 cycles to 24.6 cycles when comparing with as build samples. The machining of the same kind of additively manufactured parts was used as a reference, achieving 29.6 cycles of average fatigue life. The samples with lattice geometries show an improvement in surface finish but did not achieve a significant improvement in fatigue life due to excessive loss of mass in the extremely small struts with 250 and 500 microns. The study reported here shows that electropolishing is a viable alternative for fatigue life improvement compared to other more expensive and/or complex post-processing approaches.
Fernando Vazquez-Castro, Erika Garcia-Lopez, Jesus Sandoval-Robles, Elisa Vazquez, Omar Lopez-Botello, Ciro Rodriguez
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
STEAM and Educational Applications with 3D Printing
The STEAM methodology is based on the integrated learning of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics disciplines in an interdisciplinary framework. Education seeks to promote the transversality of knowledge in children and young people to guarantee meaningful learning, which also involves the development of skills and types of thinking such as scientific, quantitative, visuospatial processing, among others. Its fundamental principle is experience-based learning, combined with project-based learning with an innovative approach to teaching. It involves the integration of learning with TICs, the appropriation of knowledge in scientific areas, it promotes creative capacity and imagination.In this sense, the learning spaces generated are collaborative spaces, which provide the conditions to develop mathematical thinking, computational thinking, emotional management skills in young people and enhance communication skills with their peers.Under this framework, 3D printing technology now more accessible and within the reach of children in educational institutions, allows venturing into rapid prototyping for the generation of physical models and the practical consolidation of ideas, achieving more interesting classes for students. Thus, three-dimensional printing technology is being used more and more in education at all levels. This paper discusses the different applications that can be given to rapid prototyping through 3D printing in education and how it can influence the STEAM skills acquired by students.
Mireya Zapata, Hugo Arias-Flores, Jorge Alvarez
Open Access
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