An investigation into the characteristics of materials and processes, for the production of accurate direct parts and tools using 3D rapid prototyping technologies

The work reported here reflects the fundamental research undertaken by the author into the technologies of Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Manufacturing and Rapid Tooling. This research was undertaken over 4 years, in a period when these technologies were experiencing huge change, through innovation and development, to produce viable and reliable industrial processes. The research presented here deals with the two low cost, high speed Rapid Prototyping manufacturing processes. The first technology produces concept models for verifying design intent in the early stages of the product development cycle — referred to as the Z-Corps 3D Printing, 3DP process. The second technology investigated was the EnvisionTec 3D Digital Light Manufacturing, DLM process. This is machine capable of producing final parts in real engineering materials. In both cases the default manufacturing settings and materials were evaluated for accuracy, finish and material properties and an experimental test methodology was developed. Each process was then optimised utilising Taguchi techniques and applied to industrial projects. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), has been used to predict best build orientation for these non-isotropic materials. This work investigating the Z-Corps 3D printing process has improved the accuracy by 2%, part strength by 25% using new infiltrates and has been applied to both production of polymer injection mould tool inserts and electrode manufacture. The EnvisionTec Digital Light Manufacturing build parameters have been optimised and characterised for accuracy, hardness, part strength, surface finish. The application of FEA analysis using Non-isotropic properties has been shown to improve product performance by 14% and the optimised process has been applied to Rapid Tooling applications. In all twelve case studies are presented here, several of which have been turned into successful commercial products, and for one case over 1 million products have been sold

Bridge tooling through layered sintering of powder

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007Faster mould production methods will undeniably impact positively on the product development community. Rapid Tooling (RT) concepts, in context with the product development process and related product development theories, were analysed. Conventional tooling techniques used such as epoxy plastic tooling and machined injection moulding techniques were used as point of departure for the research work, which focused on Laser Sintering of powder materials. The new generation RT materials that are available at the Central University of Technology, Free State, are a vast improvement on the old materials. RT materials are constantly being developed and the project aims were to stay abreast with the latest developments. The thesis gives a complete overview of all related technologies, and also an in-depth discussion of both the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Laser Sintering (LS) processes. Mould size limitations, as well as general tooling design issues, polishing and finishing techniques were all taken into account. Data has been collected to compare mould inserts grown with RP machines with that of conventionally machined tools. Aspects such as tool life, part quality, lead times and cost were used as parameters to determine the differences and make recommendations. Through analysis of several experiments and industrial case studies, RT through sintered materials was proven as a capable technology, giving the option of an intermediate (bridge tooling) or even a final step of tooling. Recommendations for future use were made in terms of insert size and geometry, accuracy, durability and shrinkages, to ensure the feasibility of the RT process in SA

A method to Formalise the Rapid Prototyping Process

Facing the increasing complexity of the product design area, (reduction of cycle times, introduction of simultaneous engineering, introduction of digital mock-up, ... ) a research department which wants to define a rapid prototyping process is confronted to the problem of the tools’ choice. Therefore, we will propose in this article, a method allowing to conceive such a process. In a first chapter, we present the rapid prototyping area in the product design environment, in a second chapter we will propose our method illustrated by an industrial case

Research Towards High Speed Freeforming

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods are currently utilised for the manufacture of prototypes and low volume, high cost parts. This is because in most cases the high material costs and low volumetric deposition rates of AM parts result in higher per part cost than traditional manufacturing methods. This paper brings together recent research aimed at improving the economics of AM, in particular Extrusion Freeforming (EF). A new class of machine is described called High Speed Additive Manufacturing (HSAM) in which software, hardware and materials advances are aggregated. HSAM could be cost competitive with injection moulding for medium sized medium quantity parts. A general outline for a HSAM machine and supply chain is provided along with future required research

An investigation into the characteristics of materials and processes, for the production of accurate direct parts and tools using 3D rapid prototyping technologies

The work reported here reflects the fundamental research undertaken by the author into the technologies of Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Manufacturing and Rapid Tooling. This research was undertaken over 4 years, in a period when these technologies were experiencing huge change, through innovation and development, to produce viable and reliable industrial processes. The research presented here deals with the two low cost, high speed Rapid Prototyping manufacturing processes. The first technology produces concept models for verifying design intent in the early stages of the product development cycle — referred to as the Z-Corps 3D Printing, 3DP process. The second technology investigated was the EnvisionTec 3D Digital Light Manufacturing, DLM process. This is machine capable of producing final parts in real engineering materials. In both cases the default manufacturing settings and materials were evaluated for accuracy, finish and material properties and an experimental test methodology was developed. Each process was then optimised utilising Taguchi techniques and applied to industrial projects. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), has been used to predict best build orientation for these non-isotropic materials. This work investigating the Z-Corps 3D printing process has improved the accuracy by 2%, part strength by 25% using new infiltrates and has been applied to both production of polymer injection mould tool inserts and electrode manufacture. The EnvisionTec Digital Light Manufacturing build parameters have been optimised and characterised for accuracy, hardness, part strength, surface finish. The application of FEA analysis using Non-isotropic properties has been shown to improve product performance by 14% and the optimised process has been applied to Rapid Tooling applications. In all twelve case studies are presented here, several of which have been turned into successful commercial products, and for one case over 1 million products have been sold.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Scientometric mapping as a strategic intelligence tool for the governance of emerging technologies

How can scientometric mapping function as a tool of ’strategic intelligence’ to aid the governance of emerging technologies? The present paper aims to address this question by focusing on a set of recently developed scientometric techniques, namely overlay mapping. We examine the potential these techniques have to inform, in a timely manner, analysts and decision-makers about relevant dynamics of technical emergence. We investigate the capability of overlay mapping in generating informed perspectives about emergence across three spaces: geographical, social, and cognitive. Our analysis relies on three empirical studies of emerging technologies in the biomedical domain: RNA interference (RNAi), Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing technologies for cervical cancer, and Thiopurine Methyltransferase (TPMT) genetic testing. The case-studies are analysed and mapped longitudinally by using publication and patent data. Results show the variety of ’intelligence’ inputs overlay mapping can produce for the governance of emerging technologies. Overlay mapping also confers to the investigation of emergence flexibility and granularity in terms of adaptability to different sources of data and selection of the levels of the analysis, respectively. These features make possible the integration and comparison of results from different contexts and cases, thus providing possibilities for a potentially more ’distributed’ strategic intelligence. The generated perspectives allow triangulation of findings, which is important given the complexity featuring in technical emergence and the limitations associated with the use of single scientometric approaches

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

The Cognitive Atlas: Employing Interaction Design Processes to Facilitate Collaborative Ontology Creation

The Cognitive Atlas is a collaborative knowledge-building project that aims to develop an ontology that characterizes the current conceptual framework among researchers in cognitive science and neuroscience. The project objectives from the beginning focused on usability, simplicity, and utility for end users. Support for Semantic Web technologies was also a priority in order to support interoperability with other neuroscience projects and knowledge bases. Current off-the-shelf semantic web or semantic wiki technologies, however, do not often lend themselves to simple user interaction designs for non-technical researchers and practitioners; the abstract nature and complexity of these systems acts as point of friction for user interaction, inhibiting usability and utility. Instead, we take an alternate interaction design approach driven by user centered design processes rather than a base set of semantic technologies. This paper reviews the initial two rounds of design and development of the Cognitive Atlas system, including interactive design decisions and their implementation as guided by current industry practices for the development of complex interactive systems

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

Hybrid Prototypes to Assist Modeling Automotive Seats

The development of new modular seats is an important issue in the automotive industry. However, is very time consuming and costly. Virtual models and hybrid prototypes could accelerate the car seats development process. The hybrid prototypes are mainly manufactured by rapid prototyping with multi materials. The objective of this paper is to establish a methodology to develop innovative lightweight multi-functional, modular car seats to be used in Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), by means of FEA simulation and rapid prototyping additive/subtractive technologies utilizing multi materials. A case study is presented to validate the developed methodology. The manufactured hybrid prototype’s reproduces the main functionalities of the MPV modular seat, namely its three key positions: normal, stored and table.Mechanical Engineerin