…Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered they can control the density and strength of the final product by printing the ink at different shades of grey and that the best results are achieved by using less ink than is standard.
The technique uses a cutting edge process known as high speed sintering (HSS). Unlike commercial 3D printers that use lasers, HSS marks the shape of the part onto powdered plastic using heat-sensitive ink, which is then activated by an infra-red lamp to melt the powder layer by layer and so build up the 3D part.
“All HSS work to date has involved printing 100 per cent black, but this doesn’t get the best results,” explains Professor of Manufacturing Engineering Neil Hopkinson, from the University of Sheffield. “We found that there is a point at which, as the ink levels increase, the mechanical properties start to reduce. This enabled us to identify the ‘sweet spot’ at which you can gain maximum strength with the minimum amount of ink.”
The researchers are able to manipulate the density of the material by up to 40 per cent, opening the door to the possibility of 3D printing parts with differing densities at different points. This would enable parts to have greatly reduced weight but equivalent mechanical strength — for example by having a dense outer shell and a lighter inner structure.
“3D printing has focused on optimising the shape of a part in order to reduce its weight and still retain its mechanical properties,” says Professor Hopkinson, who will announce the findings today (5 August 2014) at the Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium in Austin, Texas….
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!