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

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发提高3D打印聚合物部件质量的技术。尽管3D打印技术前景广阔，但它仍远未发挥其全部潜力。 虽然它提供了低成本，可访问的零件制造，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很差（不到注塑零件的20%），并且尚未准备好用作承重零件。粘合剂与长丝的粘合性差是聚合物3D打印中这些问题的核心。 为了解决这一关键技术挑战，已经开发了一种包含附加金属预热器和后加热器部件的打印头，其以高度局部化的方式提供附加热能以延迟冷却曲线并改善粘合剂与长丝的粘合。所提出的打印头是一种附加或即插即用设备，可以产生一种简单的附加设备，可以安装到几乎任何现有的基于智能的3D打印机中。 如果成功的话，这项技术所实现的聚合物3D打印的质量提高和成本降低将有助于打印高性能部件，这些部件可能会进入各种工程系统。这个I-Corps项目是基于在聚合物3D打印机中开发一种原位金属加热器，与常规的粘合剂分配喷嘴集成在一起，以提高打印部件的机械强度。加热器提供的额外热能有助于通过降低印刷过程中的冷却速率来改善粘合剂与长丝的粘合。这已被证明导致印刷部件的机械强度和其他性能的改善。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显著的负载。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中的零件。如果成功，使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NSF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.