New possibilities using additive manufacturing with materials that are difficult to process and with complex structures

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) opens the possibility of creating new designs and manufacturing objects with new materials rapidly and economically. Particularly for use with polymers and polymer composites, simple printers can make high quality products, and these can be produced easily in offices, schools and in workshops and laboratories. This technology has opened a route for many to test ideas or to make custom devices. It is possible to easily manufacture complex geometries that would be difficult or even impossible to create with traditional methods. Naturally this technology has attracted attention in many fields that include the production of medical devices and prostheses, mechanical engineering as well as basic sciences. Materials that are highly problematic to machine can be used. We illustrate process developments with an account of the production of printer parts to cope with polymer fillers that are hard and abrasive; new nozzles with ruby inserts designed for such materials are durable and can be used to print boron carbide composites. As with other materials, complex parts can be printed using boron carbide composites with fine structures, such as screw threads and labels to identify materials. General ideas about design for this new era of manufacturing customised parts are presented.

The Effects of Build Parameters and Strain Rate on the Mechanical Properties of FDM 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

“…This contrasts with the traditional method, often referred to as Subtractive Manufacturing (SM), in which material is removed from the bulk to form the desired component. It is a technique that surpasses SM as it opens up opportunity for handling complex shapes with great design flexibility, and reducing waste in the production of machine components [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]. This method has become very popular for industrial and domestic purposes as it provides opportunities for reducing lead time and maximizing inventory strategies [21].…”

Tecnologias de manufatura aditiva aplicadas à produção de órteses

“…A MA é um processo produtivo caracterizado pela deposição direta de material definindo o formato do objeto produzido, previamente modelado em ambiente virtual com o auxílio de softwares CAD (Computer Aided Design), o que a difere de processos produtivos tradicionais baseados na remoção de material ou na deposição de materiais em moldes (OLSSON;HELLSING;RENNIE, 2017;PAHONIE et al, 2017).…”

“…Dependendo do material utilizado, tal processo pode ser mais rápido e, por vezes, econômico do que técnicas tradicionais, uma vez que a complexidade da peça não está necessariamente associada ao custo produtivo. Outra vantagem da impressão 3D é a possibilidade de produzir peças únicas ou em pequena escala, o que torna mais viável a personalização dos objetos (OLSSON;HELLSING;RENNIE, 2017;TELFER, 2012).…”

Characterization and Processing Behavior of Heated Aluminum-Polycarbonate Composite Build Plates for the FDM Additive Manufacturing Process

“…For example, high-warp materials require an enclosed frame with a controlled environment, while low-warp material materials can be processed in the open air [6][7][8][9]. Abrasive materials may require hardened extruder components [10,11], while very soft materials may require an extruder that is slow and supports the filament to prevent buckling [12][13][14]. There are scores of materials and material blends that can be processed using FDM, so understanding the correct processing parameters for the chosen materials is very important [3][4][5].…”