An Apparatus Designed for Coating and Coloration of Filaments Used in Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D Printing

Author(s):  
Piyush Chohan ◽  
Aniket Yadav ◽  
Ranvijay Kumar ◽  
Raman Kumar ◽  
Jasgurpreet Singh Chohan

Background: Three dimensional (3D) printing is emerging technology, capable of manufacturing a solid layer by layer. With the advancements of materials for 3D printing, this technology is applicable in almost every sector. But in accordance with the product requirements we need to modify the mechanical properties of material. To achieve good surface finish we require coating of filament. For this purpose an apparatus is designed for coating of material over a filament, which is capable of coating filaments uniformly and with automated process. Objective: The objective of present invention is directed to a filament feeding device for applying uniform coating on a filament in order to make 3D solid objects with good quality finishing, thereby eliminating the chances of strains and imperfect coating on the filament. Methods: The present invention relates to a filament feeding device, comprising a container equipped within the device for storing a chemical solution in a liquefied form, an inlet port fabricated on the container for inserting a filament inside the container, plurality of relief valves placed at a bottom portion of the container for controlling the leakage of the filaments during insertion of the filaments. A stepper motor in association with a blade equipped within the container to rotate the main extruder of a 3D printer, and an outlet port designed opposite to the inlet port for discharging the filament from the container for 3D printing of the filament in order to manufacture the solid object. Results: The apparatus makes it easy for coating and coloration of materials to make the reinforced composite filaments. As this apparatus provides uniform coating of material on the filaments, the product printed by filaments have good surface finish. Conclusion: The proposed method can reduce coating time and printing time. This work provides meaningful implication to researchers who are doing research in the domain of additive manufacturing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Aumnate ◽  
A. Pongwisuthiruchte ◽  
P. Pattananuwat ◽  
P. Potiyaraj

Additive manufacturing, the so-called three-dimensional (3D) printing, is a revolutionary emerging technology. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the most used 3D printing technology in which the melted filament is extruded through the nozzle and builds up layer by layer onto the build platform. The layers are then fused together and solidified into final parts. Graphene-based materials have been positively incorporated into polymers for innovative applications, such as for the mechanical, thermal, and electrical enhancement. However, to reach optimum properties, the graphene fillers are necessary to be well dispersed in polymers matrix. This study aims to emphasise the interest of producing ABS/graphene oxide (GO) composites for 3D printing application. The ABS/GO composite filaments were produced using dry mixing and solvent mixing methods before further melt extruded to investigate the proper way to disperse GO into ABS matrix. The ABS/GO composite filament with 2 wt.% of GO, prepared from the solvent mixing method, was successfully printed into a 3D model. By adding GO, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of ABS can be enhanced. However, the ABS/GO composite filament that was prepared via the dry mixing method failed to print. This could be attributed to the aggregation of GO, leading to the die clogging and failure of the printing process.


Author(s):  
Yeo Jung Yoon ◽  
Minsok Yon ◽  
Sung Eun Jung ◽  
Satyandra K. Gupta

Abstract Using a 6-DOF robotic manipulator for material extrusion additive manufacturing (AM) enables conformal printing onto complex surfaces while orienting material fibers at desired directions. Compared to a traditional 3D printer, conformal printing can produce parts with good surface finish, less number of layers and enhanced mechanical properties. In this paper, we present a three-nozzle extrusion system which can be attached to a robot. This system allows the robot to achieve conformal 3D printing with multi-resolution. One extruder is for printing support materials and the other two extruders are for fabricating structural material with different resolutions. The interior regions of the part are fabricated with a bigger diameter nozzle and the surface of the part is printed with a smaller diameter nozzle. This multi-resolution printing not only speeds up the build times but also produces the good surface finish. In previous work, we demonstrated multi-resolution 3D printing using two robots. The contributions of this paper are design and fabrication of a three-nozzle extrusion system, calibration process for the system, and its validation. The validation of the calibration was done by printing linear and circular patterns using different nozzles, and evaluating relative dimensional accuracy. This work will enable a single robot to perform multi-resolution conformal 3D printing.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (14) ◽  
pp. 4164
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Diederichs ◽  
Maisyn Picard ◽  
Boon Peng Chang ◽  
Manjusri Misra ◽  
Amar Mohanty

Three-dimensional (3D) printing manufactures intricate computer aided designs without time and resource spent for mold creation. The rapid growth of this industry has led to its extensive use in the automotive, biomedical, and electrical industries. In this work, biobased poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) blends were combined with pyrolyzed biomass to create sustainable and novel printing materials. The Miscanthus biocarbon (BC), generated from pyrolysis at 650 °C, was combined with an optimized PTT blend at 5 and 10 wt % to generate filaments for extrusion 3D printing. Samples were printed and analyzed according to their thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties. Although there were no significant differences seen in the mechanical properties between the two BC composites, the optimal quantity of BC was 5 wt % based upon dimensional stability, ease of printing, and surface finish. These printable materials show great promise for implementation into customizable, non-structural components in the electrical and automotive industries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy E. Alexander ◽  
Nicole Wake ◽  
Leonid Chepelev ◽  
Philipp Brantner ◽  
Justin Ryan ◽  
...  

AbstractFirst patented in 1986, three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping, now encompasses a variety of distinct technology types where material is deposited, joined, or solidified layer by layer to create a physical object from a digital file. As 3D printing technologies continue to evolve, and as more manuscripts describing these technologies are published in the medical literature, it is imperative that standardized terminology for 3D printing is utilized. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide recommendations for standardized lexicons for 3D printing technologies described in the medical literature. For all 3D printing methods, standard general ISO/ASTM terms for 3D printing should be utilized. Additional, non-standard terms should be included to facilitate communication and reproducibility when the ISO/ASTM terms are insufficient in describing expository details. By aligning to these guidelines, the use of uniform terms for 3D printing and the associated technologies will lead to improved clarity and reproducibility of published work which will ultimately increase the impact of publications, facilitate quality improvement, and promote the dissemination and adoption of 3D printing in the medical community.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
Amirhosein Fathi ◽  
Farzad Kermani ◽  
Aliasghar Behnamghader ◽  
Sara Banijamali ◽  
Masoud Mozafari ◽  
...  

AbstractOver the last years, three-dimensional (3D) printing has been successfully applied to produce suitable substitutes for treating bone defects. In this work, 3D printed composite scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) and strontium (Sr)- and cobalt (Co)-doped multi-component melt-derived bioactive glasses (BGs) were prepared for bone tissue engineering strategies. For this purpose, 30% of as-prepared BG particles (size <38 μm) were incorporated into PCL, and then the obtained composite mix was introduced into a 3D printing machine to fabricate layer-by-layer porous structures with the size of 12 × 12 × 2 mm3.The scaffolds were fully characterized through a series of physico-chemical and biological assays. Adding the BGs to PCL led to an improvement in the compressive strength of the fabricated scaffolds and increased their hydrophilicity. Furthermore, the PCL/BG scaffolds showed apatite-forming ability (i.e., bioactivity behavior) after being immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF). The in vitro cellular examinations revealed the cytocompatibility of the scaffolds and confirmed them as suitable substrates for the adhesion and proliferation of MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. In conclusion, 3D printed composite scaffolds made of PCL and Sr- and Co-doped BGs might be potentially-beneficial bone replacements, and the achieved results motivate further research on these materials.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1791
Author(s):  
Chi Cuong Vu ◽  
Thanh Tai Nguyen ◽  
Sangun Kim ◽  
Jooyong Kim

Health monitoring sensors that are attached to clothing are a new trend of the times, especially stretchable sensors for human motion measurements or biological markers. However, price, durability, and performance always are major problems to be addressed and three-dimensional (3D) printing combined with conductive flexible materials (thermoplastic polyurethane) can be an optimal solution. Herein, we evaluate the effects of 3D printing-line directions (45°, 90°, 180°) on the sensor performances. Using fused filament fabrication (FDM) technology, the sensors are created with different print styles for specific purposes. We also discuss some main issues of the stretch sensors from Carbon Nanotube/Thermoplastic Polyurethane (CNT/TPU) and FDM. Our sensor achieves outstanding stability (10,000 cycles) and reliability, which are verified through repeated measurements. Its capability is demonstrated in a real application when detecting finger motion by a sensor-integrated into gloves. This paper is expected to bring contribution to the development of flexible conductive materials—based on 3D printing.


Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
A. R. Damanpack ◽  
André Sousa ◽  
M. Bodaghi

This paper shows how fused decomposition modeling (FDM), as a three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, can engineer lightweight porous foams with controllable density. The tactic is based on the 3D printing of Poly Lactic Acid filaments with a chemical blowing agent, as well as experiments to explore how FDM parameters can control material density. Foam porosity is investigated in terms of fabrication parameters such as printing temperature and flow rate, which affect the size of bubbles produced during the layer-by-layer fabrication process. It is experimentally shown that printing temperature and flow rate have significant effects on the bubbles’ size, micro-scale material connections, stiffness and strength. An analytical equation is introduced to accurately simulate the experimental results on flow rate, density, and mechanical properties in terms of printing temperature. Due to the absence of a similar concept, mathematical model and results in the specialized literature, this paper is likely to advance the state-of-the-art lightweight foams with controllable porosity and density fabricated by FDM 3D printing technology.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damir Godec ◽  
Santiago Cano ◽  
Clemens Holzer ◽  
Joamin Gonzalez-Gutierrez

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) combined with debinding and sintering could be an economical process for three-dimensional (3D) printing of metal parts. In this paper, compounding, filament making, and FFF processing of feedstock material with 55% vol. of 17-4PH stainless steel powder in a multicomponent binder system are presented. The experimental part of the paper encompasses central composite design for optimization of the most significant 3D printing parameters (extrusion temperature, flow rate multiplier, and layer thickness) to obtain maximum tensile strength of the 3D-printed specimens. Here, only green specimens were examined in order to be able to determine the optimal parameters for 3D printing. The results show that the factor with the biggest influence on the tensile properties was flow rate multiplier, followed by the layer thickness and finally the extrusion temperature. Maximizing all three parameters led to the highest tensile properties of the green parts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Kessler ◽  
R Hickel ◽  
M Reymus

SUMMARY Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a rapidly developing technology that has gained widespread acceptance in dentistry. Compared to conventional (lost-wax technique) and subtractive computer numeric controlled methods, 3D printing offers process engineering advantages. Materials such as plastics, metals, and ceramics can be manufactured using various techniques. 3D printing was introduced over three decades ago. Today, it is experiencing rapid development due to the expiration of many patents and is often described as the key technology of the next industrial revolution. The transition to its clinical application in dentistry is highly dependent on the available materials, which must not only provide the required accuracy but also the necessary biological and physical properties. The aim of this work is to provide an up-to-date overview of the different printing techniques: stereolithography, digital light processing, photopolymer jetting, material jetting, binder jetting, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, and fused filament fabrication. Additionally, particular attention is paid to the materials used in dentistry and their clinical application.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document