Realizing 3-D Printing and Patterning of Metals at Room Temperature

该奖项支持室温或接近室温的金属3D打印用导电油墨的工艺-结构-性能关系的基础研究。这项工作的基础是最近的发现和证明，液态金属可以打印成由表面氧化物机械稳定的独立结构。这项研究将专注于新型导电油墨，这种油墨可以在适度的温度下分配，但在结构打印后固化成坚固的、机械坚固的金属结构。研究小组将使用一些表征技术来研究这些油墨的配方、分配和固化，以阐明固化过程。研究结果将提供必要的知识和理解，以满足开发用于添加剂制造(3D打印)的金属部件的关键需求。加法制造使用户能够按需直接设计、制作原型和打印对象。它被认为是奥巴马总统倡导的一项变革性技术，以帮助保持美国在制造业的竞争力。虽然金属是电子、光学和结构材料的重要材料，但目前3D打印金属的技术昂贵且依赖高温。这项研究将首次实现在室温或接近室温的情况下对金属进行3D打印。除了支持一名研究生，该项目还将涉及从北卡罗来纳州立大学(NC State)不同的工科学生群体中招募的本科生研究人员。研究小组将与北卡罗来纳州国家狩猎图书馆和北卡罗来纳州添加剂制造和物流国家实验室合作，为旨在让更多受众接触3D打印科学和技术的一些综合外联活动做出贡献。

This award supports fundamental research on processing-structure-property relationships of conductive inks for 3D printing of metals at or near room temperature. The basis for this work is the recent discovery and demonstration that liquid metals can be printed into free-standing structures that are stabilized mechanically by a surface oxide. The research will focus on new conductive inks that can be dispensed at modest temperatures but solidify into solid, mechanically robust metallic structures after the structures are printed. The research team will study the formulation, dispensing, and solidification of these inks using a number of characterization techniques to elucidate the solidification process. The research results will provide the knowledge and understanding necessary to meet a critical need to develop metallic components for additive manufacturing (3D printing). Additive manufacturing enables users to directly design, prototype, and print objects on demand. It is considered a transformative technology that is championed by President Obama to help keep America competitive in the manufacturing sector. Although metals are important materials for electronics, optics, and structural materials, current technologies to 3D print metals are expensive and rely on high temperatures. The research will enable for the first time 3D printing of metals at or near room temperature. In addition to supporting a graduate student, the project will involve undergraduate researchers recruited from a diverse group of engineering students at North Carolina State (NC State). The research team will partner with the NC State Hunt Library and the NC State Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics to contribute to a number of integrated outreach activities designed to expose a broader audience to the science and technology of 3D printing.