MRI: Development of a Next-Generation 3-D Printer for Smart Product Design - Purdue PolymerMakers

该项目开发全新的新一代3D打印机，旨在使合作设计、机器人元材料、软机器人、纳米结构、神经形态结构和规划等新领域的研究成为可能。这种新一代3D打印机(普渡PolymerMaker 3D智能打印机)将实现原型结构(形式)，以及使其工作的传感器、计算和驱动(功能)，开创智能产品设计的新纪元，通过结合聚合物结构的3D打印、用于传感、计算和驱动的聚合物电子的2-1/2D打印、3D打印液态金属互连，以及针对非聚合物组件(如硅微处理器和电磁马达)的过度成型的自动规划，将开创智能产品设计的新时代。这项工作有赖于各学科大批研究人员的扎实工作。聚合物的发明对设计师可以设计的物品的形式产生了突然的影响。聚合物3D打印的发明对创新者如何实现这些令人兴奋的新形式的原型产生了更戏剧性的影响。预计聚合物和设计的下一次巨大飞跃将是形式和功能的同时实现。想象一下，只需按一下按钮就可以创建一个完整的智能产品原型！聚合物的沉积，无论是作为结构、有源半导体还是作为激活的传感位置，都取决于它所附着的表面、环境和沉积之后的工艺步骤。该项目建议选择和开发自动化工艺和材料，当集成时，经过仔细选择和调整，以将界面上的阻抗失配降至最低。用于沉积和固化的精密、闭环、运动控制的机电一体化将确保随时随地放置材料。采用微动刮刀对挤出的稠密液体进行局部调平。刀片是由机器人控制的。更广泛的影响：新一代3D打印机将横跨大多数领域，让社会和行为科学家探索新的技术形式，让医学和生物专家打印新型智能化验，让从K到Gray的教育工作者开发新的动手活动，让工程师和计算机科学家更快、更有影响力地完成他们的工作。研究生和本科生将参与新的课程材料，通过科学、技术、工程、数学相关的招聘活动和活动营接触K-12学校，并在许多领域创建新的初创企业。普渡大学赞助的一所新的市中心高中将提供以机器人为重点的长期拓展的新途径，并将在大学范围内对13个系和5所学院的机器人课程进行考试，这些课程将涵盖这项工作的各个方面。

This project, developing an entirely new generation of 3D printers, aims to enable new areas of research into co-design, robotic meta-materials, soft robotics, nano-structures, neuromorphic architectures, and planning. This new generation of 3D printers (Purdue PolymerMaker 3-D Smart Printers) will realize the structure of a prototype (form) in addition to its sensors, computation, and actuation (function) that make it work, ushering a new era of smart product design that will be achieved through a combination of 3-D printing of polymer structure, 2-1/2 D printing of polymer electronics for sensing, computation and actuation, 3-D printing liquid metal interconnect, and automated planning for over-molding of non-polymer components, such as silicon microprocessors and electromagnetic motors. This work relies on the solid work of a large number of researchers in a variety of disciplines. The invention of polymers had a sudden impact on the form of objects designers could design. The invention of polymer 3-D printing has a more dramatic impact on how innovators could realize prototypes of those exciting new forms. The expected next giant leap in polymers and design will be the simultaneous realization of both form and function. Imagine creating an entire smart product prototype at the press of a button!The deposition of polymers, either as a structure, as active semiconductor, or as activated sensing site, depends on the surface it adheres to, the environment, and the process steps that follow deposition. This project proposes to select and develop automated processes and materials that, when integrated, are carefully selected and tuned to "minimize impedance mismatches" at the interfacial boundaries. The mechatronic integration of precise, closed-loop, motion control for deposition and curing will assure materials are placed when and where needed. Micro-active doctor blading will be employed to locally level the thick extruded liquids. The blade is robotically controlled. Broader Impacts:This new generation of 3-D printers will cut across most fields, allowing social and behavioral scientists to explore new forms of technology, medical and biological experts to print new types of smart assays, educators from "K to Gray" to develop new hands-on activities, and engineers and computer scientists to do their jobs faster and with greater impact. Graduate and undergraduate students will be engaged in new class materials to reach out to K-12 schools with Science, Technology, Engineering, Math-related recruitment drives and activity camps, and to create new start-ups in many fields. A new Purdue-sponsored inner city high school will offer new avenues of long-term outreach with robotics focus, as well as a university-wide examination of robotics curriculum across 13 departments and 5 colleges where aspects of this work will be embraced.