I-Corps: High Performance 3D Printed Plastic Parts Through Novel Process Enhancement

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是提高3D打印聚合物部件质量的技术开发。尽管3D打印技术前景光明，但它仍远未发挥其全部潜力。虽然它提供了低成本，易于使用的零件制造，几何精度足以满足许多应用，但聚合物3D打印零件的强度通常较差（不到注塑零件的20%），并且尚未准备好用作承重零件。在聚合物3D打印中，较差的丝与丝的粘附性是此类问题的核心。为了解决这一关键的技术挑战，一种包含额外金属预热器和后加热器组件的打印头已经被开发出来，它以高度局部的方式提供额外的热能，以延迟冷却曲线，提高细丝到细丝的附着力。拟议的打印头是一个附加或即插即用的设备，可能会导致一个简单的附加组件，可以安装到几乎任何现有的基于长丝的3D打印机。如果成功，该技术所带来的聚合物3D打印质量的提高和成本的降低将有助于打印各种工程系统的高性能部件。I-Corps的这个项目是基于在聚合物3D打印机中集成常规长丝点胶喷嘴的原位金属加热器的开发，以提高打印部件的机械强度。在印刷过程中，加热器提供的额外热能通过降低冷却速度，有助于提高细丝到细丝的附着力。这已被证明可以提高打印部件的机械强度和其他性能。使用所提出的技术打印的部件可能适用于具有挑战性和复杂的工程系统，其中部件预计将承受重大负载。这将有助于将聚合物3D打印技术从能够打印原型提升到可以生产现实生活部件的技术。如果成功，用该产品打印的零件可能会实现当前制造技术无法实现的应用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology to improve the quality of 3D printed polymer parts. Despite the promise of 3D printing technology, it is still far from meeting its full potential. Although it offers low-cost, accessible part fabrication with geometric accuracy sufficient for many applications, polymer 3D printed parts often have poor strength (less than 20% of that of injection molded parts) and are not yet ready to be used as load-bearing parts. Poor filament-to-filament adhesion is at the heart of such problems in polymer 3D printing. To address this key technological challenge, a print-head has been developed containing additional metal pre-heater and post-heater components, which provide additional thermal energy in a highly localized manner to delay the cooling curve and improve filament-to-filament adhesion. The proposed print head is an add-on or plug-and-play device that may result in a simple add-on that can be fitted into almost any existing filament-based 3D printer. If successful, the improved quality and reduced cost of polymer 3D printing enabled by this technology will help print high-performance parts that may go into a variety of engineering systems. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an in situ metal heater integrated with the regular filament-dispensing nozzle in a polymer 3D printer to improve the mechanical strength of printed parts. The additional thermal energy provided by the heater helps improve the filament-to-filament adhesion through reduced rate of cooling during the printing process. This has been shown to lead to improved mechanical strength and other properties of the printed part. Parts printed with the proposed technology may be suitable for challenging and complex engineering systems where the parts are expected to withstand significant load. This will help elevate polymer 3D printing technology from being able to print prototypes to one that can produce real-life parts. If successful, parts printed with this product may enable applications that are not possible with the current manufacturing technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.