Today, 3D-printing with polymer plaster composites is a common method in Additive Manufacturing. This technique has proven to be especially suitable for the production of presentation models, due to the low cost of materials and the possibility to produce color-models. But nowadays it requires refinishing through the manual application of a layer of resin. However, the strength of these printed components is very limited, as the applied resin only penetrates a thin edge layer on the surface. This paper develops a new infiltration technique that allows for a significant increase in the strength of the 3D-printed component. For this process, the components are first dehydrated in a controlled two-tier procedure, before they are then penetrated with high-strength resin. The infiltrate used in this process differs significantly from materials traditionally used for infiltration. The result is an almost complete penetration of the components with high-strength infiltrate. As the whole process is computer-integrated, the results are also easier to reproduce, compared to manual infiltration. On the basis of extensive material testing with different testing specimen and testing methods, it can be demonstrated that a significant increase in strength and hardness can be achieved. Finally, this paper also considers the cost and energy consumption of this new infiltration method. As a result of this new technology, the scope of applicability of 3D-printing can be extended to cases that require significantly more strength, like the production of tools for the shaping of metals or used for the molding of plastics. Furthermore, both the process itself and the parameters used are monitored and can be optimized to individual requirements and different fields of application.
The opportunities for the use of Digital Manufacturing in the field of architecture have increased tremendously over the past years. Today, already a large variety of methods and processes are used for the production of architectural models or even prototypes and design models. By now, this new technology has also become firmly established in the education of students. In this context, especially the theoretical basics of digital manufacturing, that is to say the integration of CAAD with the manufacturing process, and the special characteristics of the additive manufacturing, i.e. assembly in layers, are taught. As a demonstration of the practical application of the new technology of 3D printing, this paper will focus on the Workshop Digital Manufacturing. Due to the new approach of this workshop, which relies on the assembly of a 3D printer from an assembly kit, the students gain profound insights into the technology and functionality of 3D printers. In a next step, the students realize various models with the 3D-printer and in doing so develop design guidelines for additive manufacturing autonomously.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.