Expanding Rapid Prototyping for Electronic Systems Integration of Arbitrary Form

An innovative method for rapid prototyping (RP) of electronic circuits with components characteristic of typical electronics applications was demonstrated using an enhanced version of a previously developed hybrid stereolithography (SL) and direct write (DW) system, where an existing SL machine was integrated with a three-axis DW fluid dispensing system for combined arbitrary form electronic systems manufacturing. This paper presents initial efforts at embedding functional electronic circuits using the hybrid SL/DW system. A simple temperature-sensitive circuit was selected, which oscillated an LED at a frequency proportional to the temperature sensed by the thermistor. The circuit was designed to incorporate all the required electronic components within a 2.5” x 2” x 0.5” SL part. Electrical interconnects between electronic components were deposited on the SL part with a DW system using silver conductive ink lines. Several inks were deposited, cured, and tested on a variety of SL resin substrates, and the E 1660 ink (Ercon Inc, Wareham, MA) was selected due to its measured lowest average resistivity on the SL substrates. The finished circuit was compared with Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology for functionality. The electronic components used here include a low voltage battery, LM 555 timer chip, resistors, a thermistor, capacitors, and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). This circuit was selected because it (1) represented a simple circuit combining many typically used electronic components and thus provided a useful demonstration for integrated electronic systems manufacturing applicable to a wide variety of devices, and (2) provided an indication of the parasitic resistances and capacitances introduced by the fabrication process due to its sensitivity to manufacturing variation. The hybrid technology can help achieve significant size reductions, enable systems integration in atypical forms, a natural resistance to reverse engineering and possibly increase maximum operating temperatures of electronic circuits as compared to the traditional PCB process. This research demonstrates the ability of the hybrid SL/DW technology for fabricating combined electronic systems for unique electronics applications in which arbitrary form is a requirement and traditional PCB technology cannot be used.Mechanical Engineerin

Process planning for thick-film mask projection micro stereolithography

Mask Projection micro Stereolithography (MPuSLA) is an additive manufacturing process used to build physical components out of a photopolymer resin. Existing MPuSLA technology cut the CAD model of part into slices by horizontal planes and the slices are stored as bitmaps. A layer corresponding to the shape of each bitmap gets cured. This layer is coated with a fresh layer of resin by lowering the Z-stage inside a vat holding the resin and the next layer is cured on top of it. In our Thick-film MPuSLA(TfMPuSLA) system, incident radiation, patterned by a dynamic mask, passes through a fixed transparent substrate to cure photopolymer resin. The existing MPuSLA fabrication models can work only for controlling the lateral dimension, without any control over the thickness of the cured part. The proposed process plan controls both the lateral dimensions and the thickness of profile of the cured part. In this thesis, a novel process planning for TfMPuSLA method is developed, to fabricate films on fixed flat substrate. The process of curing a part using this system is analytically modeled as the column cure model. It is different from the conventional process - layer cure model. Column means that a CAD model of part is discretized into vertical columns instead of being sliced into horizontal layers, and all columns get cured simultaneously till the desired heights. The process planning system is modularized into geometrical, chemical, optical, mathematical and physical modules and validated by curing test parts on our system. The thesis formulates a feasible process planning method, providing a strong basis for continued investigation of MPuSLA technology in microfabrication, such as micro lens fabrication.M.S.Committee Chair: Rosen, David W.; Committee Member: Das, Suman; Committee Member: Grover, Martha A

From 3D Models to 3D Prints: an Overview of the Processing Pipeline

Due to the wide diffusion of 3D printing technologies, geometric algorithms for Additive Manufacturing are being invented at an impressive speed. Each single step, in particular along the Process Planning pipeline, can now count on dozens of methods that prepare the 3D model for fabrication, while analysing and optimizing geometry and machine instructions for various objectives. This report provides a classification of this huge state of the art, and elicits the relation between each single algorithm and a list of desirable objectives during Process Planning. The objectives themselves are listed and discussed, along with possible needs for tradeoffs. Additive Manufacturing technologies are broadly categorized to explicitly relate classes of devices and supported features. Finally, this report offers an analysis of the state of the art while discussing open and challenging problems from both an academic and an industrial perspective.Comment: European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; H2020-FoF-2015; RIA - Research and Innovation action; Grant agreement N. 68044

A Novel Projection Based Electro-Stereolithography (PES) Process for Composite Printing

Most current additive manufacturing processes can only process one material in one build. Few of them are able to fabricate multiple materials and composites, with limited choices of materials. In this research, we propose a novel Projection based Electro-Stereolithography (PES) process, which is able to fabricate composites with high resolution and fast speed, and a big range of material choices. The proposed novel additive manufacturing process integrates projection-based stereolithography and electrophotography approaches by using a photoconductive film and digital micro-mirror device (DMD). In PES, a photoconductive film is used to collect charged particles in the regions illuminated by light. More specifically, a laser beam is scanning on the film to create a latent image on the film and then a layer of charged particles is attracted to the illuminated area. A liquid bridge system and a stamping system have been developed to transfer particles from the film to liquid resin precisely. Furthermore, a digital mask is used to pattern the light irradiation of the DMD chip to selectively cure the photopolymer liquid resin and particles of that layer. By transferring particles with designed patterns to the resin in a projection based stereolithography system, we will be able to fabricate composites with various materials at microscopic resolutions very quickly. Challenges in this novel manufacturing process, including transferring of particles and curing control, have been discussed and addressed. The corresponding key parameters of the particles collecting, dropping and curing in the PES system have been identified. A proof-of-concept PES testbed has been developed and a couple of tests have been performed to validate the feasibility of the proposed additive manufacturing approach.Mechanical Engineerin

Dynamic Resolution Control in a Laser Projection Based Stereolithography System

In a typical Additive Manufacturing system, it is critical to make a trade-off between the resolution and build area for applications in which varied dimensional sizes, feature sizes, and accuracies are desired. The lack of the capability in adjusting resolution dynamically during building processes limits the use of AM in fabricating complex structures with big layer areas and small features. In this paper, a novel AM system with dynamic resolution control by integrating a laser projection in vat photopolymerization process is presented. Theoretical models and parameter characterizations are presented for the developed AM system. Accordingly, the process planning and mask image planning approaches for fabricating models with varied dimensional sizes and feature sizes have been developed. Multiple test cases based on various types of structures have been performed.Mechanical Engineerin

An experimental investigation into the dimensional error of powder-binder three-dimensional printing

This paper is an experimental investigation into the dimensional error of the rapid prototyping additive process of powder-binder three-dimensional printing. Ten replicates of a purpose-designed part were produced using a three-dimensional printer, and measurements of the internal and external features of all surfaces were made using a general purpose coordinate measuring machine. The results reveal that the bases of all replicates (nominally flat) have a concave curvature, producing a flatness error of the primary datum. This is in contrast to findings regarding other three-dimensional printing processes, widely reported in the literature, where a convex curvature was observed. All external surfaces investigated in this study showed positive deviation from nominal values, especially in the z-axis. The z-axis error consisted of a consistent positive cumulative error and a different constant error in different replicates. By compensating for datum surface error, the average total height error of the test parts can be reduced by 25.52 %. All the dimensional errors are hypothesised to be explained by expansion and the subsequent distortion caused by layer interaction during and after the printing process

The potential of additive manufacturing in the smart factory industrial 4.0: A review

Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing has introduced a novel production method in design, manufacturing, and distribution to end-users. This technology has provided great freedom in design for creating complex components, highly customizable products, and efficient waste minimization. The last industrial revolution, namely industry 4.0, employs the integration of smart manufacturing systems and developed information technologies. Accordingly, AM plays a principal role in industry 4.0 thanks to numerous benefits, such as time and material saving, rapid prototyping, high efficiency, and decentralized production methods. This review paper is to organize a comprehensive study on AM technology and present the latest achievements and industrial applications. Besides that, this paper investigates the sustainability dimensions of the AM process and the added values in economic, social, and environment sections. Finally, the paper concludes by pointing out the future trend of AM in technology, applications, and materials aspects that have the potential to come up with new ideas for the future of AM explorations

Fabrication of Smooth Surfaces Based on Mask Projection Stereolithography

The surface finish is critical for applications such as micro-fluid mixing and self-assembly that requires smooth fluidic flow and mechanical rotation respectively. However, in layer-based additive manufacturing processes, it is well known that the stair-stepping effect exists in the fabricated surfaces since a three-dimensional model is approximated by a set of two-dimensional layers. The fabricated surfaces are especially poor for the ones that are close to the horizontal plane. In this paper a novel approach for achieving improved surface finish has been presented for the mask-image-projection-based Stereolithography (MIP-SL) process. Theoretical models and parameter characterization are presented with experimental verification. The developed approaches have been incorporated in the process planning of the MIP-SL process. Multiple test cases based on various types of curved surfaces have been performed. A comparison of the built results based on the traditional and the newly developed approaches has been discussed to illustrate the effectiveness of our method.Mechanical Engineerin