2007 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/80162

Proceedings for the 2007 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium. For more information about the symposium, please see the Solid Freeform Fabrication website.

The Seventeenth Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) Symposium, held at The University of Texas in Austin on August 6-8, 2007, was attended by almost 100 national and international researchers from 8 countries. Papers addressed SFF issues in computer software, machine design, materials synthesis and processing, and integrated manufacturing. The diverse domestic and foreign attendees included industrial users, SFF machine manufacturers, university researchers and representatives from the government. The Symposium organizers look forward to its being a continuing forum for technical exchange among the expanding body of researchers involved in SFF.

The Symposium was again organized in a manner to allow the multi-disciplinary nature of the SFF research to be presented coherently, with various sessions emphasizing process development, design tools, modeling and control, process parameter optimization, applications and materials. We believe that documenting the changing state of SFF art as represented by these Proceedings will serve both those presently involved in this fruitful technical area as well as new researchers and users entering the field.

Two special themes for this year’s conference included an industrial perspective and design. For the former, Terry Wohlers of Wohlers Associates presented an overview of the state of the art in industrial practice and was followed by a panel presentation on perspectives by Joe Beaman (University of Texas at Austin), Brent Stucker (Utah State University) and Neil Hopkinson (Loughborough University). The special session on Design was organized by Carolyn Seeperesad. Presentations explored design tools, fundamental research and applications in biomedical, aerospace and automotive.

This year’s best oral presentation was given by David Rosen of Georgia Institute of Technology. Selection is based on the overall quality of the paper, the presentation and discussion at the meeting, the significance of the work and the manuscript submitted to the proceedings. The paper title was, “Design for Additive Manufacturing: A Method to Explore Unexplored Regions of the Design Space”. Selected from 55 oral presentations, his presentation appears on Page 402 of this Proceedings. The best poster presentation selected from 6 posters was given by Omer Cansizoglu of North Carolina State University (co-authors Ola L.A. Harrysson, Denis J. Marcellin-Little, Denis R. Cormier, Harvey A. West II). The paper title was, “Tailored Structures to Reduce Stress Shielding in Hip Implants.”

The editors would like to extend a warm “Thank You” to Rosalie Foster for her detailed handling of the logistics of the meeting and the Proceedings, as well as her excellent performance as registrar and problem solver during the meeting. We would like to thank the Organizing Committee, the session chairs, the attendees for their enthusiastic contributions, and the speakers both for their significant contribution to the meeting and for the relatively prompt delivery of the manuscripts comprising this volume. We look forward to the continued close cooperation of the SFF community in organizing the Symposium. We also want to thank the Office of Naval Research (N00014-07-1-0970) and the National Science Foundation (CMMI-0728118) for supporting this meeting financially. The meeting was co-organized by the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and the Mechanical Engineering Department, Laboratory for Freeform Fabrication and the Texas Materials Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 20 of 51
  • Item
    2007 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium Table of Contents
    (2007) Laboratory for Freeform Fabrication and University of Texas at Austin
  • Item
    Topology Design and Freeform Fabrication of Deployable Structures with Lattice Skins
    (2007) Maheshwaraa, Uma; Seepersad, Carolyn Conner; Bourell, David
    Solid freeform fabrication is particularly suitable for fabricating customized parts, but it has not been used for fabricating deployable structures that can be stored in a compact configuration and deployed quickly and easily in the field. In previous work, lattice structures have been established as a feasible means of deploying parts. Before fabricating the parts with a selective laser sintering (SLS) machine and Duraform® Flex material, lattice sub-skins are added strategically beneath the surface of the part. The lattice structure provides elastic energy for folding and deploying the structure or constrains expansion upon application of internal air pressure. In this paper, a procedure is presented for optimizing the lattice skin topology for improved overall performance of the structure, measured in terms of deviation from desired surface profile. A ground structure-based topology optimization procedure is utilized, with a penalization scheme that encourages convergence to sets of thick lattice elements that are manufacturable and extremely thin lattice elements that are removed from the final structure. A deployable wing is designed for a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle. A physical prototype of the optimal configuration is fabricated with SLS and compared with the virtual prototype.
  • Item
    Manufacturing Metallic Parts with Designed Mesostructure via Three-Dimensional Printing of Metal Oxide Powder
    (2007-09-05) Williams, Christopher B.; Rosen, David W.
    Cellular materials, metallic bodies with gaseous voids, are a promising class of materials that offer high strength accompanied by a relatively low mass. In this paper, the authors investigate the use of ThreeDimensional Printing (3DP) to manufacture metallic cellular materials by selectively printing binder into a bed of metal oxide ceramic powder. The resulting green part undergoes a thermal chemical post-process in order to convert it to metal. As a result of their investigation, the authors are able to create cellular materials made of maraging steel that feature wall sizes as small as 400 µm and angled trusses and channels that are 1 mm in diameter.
  • Item
    Printing Food
    (2007-08-21) Periard, Dan; Schaal, Noy; Schaal, Maor; Malone, Evan; Lipson, Hod
    This paper examines the possible applications of food as a raw material in freeform fabrication, and provides several demonstrations of edible three-dimensional objects. The use of edible materials offers several advantages: First, it opens the door to the application of SFF technology in custom food industry, such as manufacturing of complex confections with specialized geometries and intricate material compositions. For pedagogical purposes, edible materials provide an easily accessible, nontoxic and low cost way to experiment with rapid prototyping techniques using educational systems such as Fab@Home. For more traditional SFF technologies, food materials with appropriate rheological properties can serve as sacrificial, bio-degradable, bio-compatible or recyclable materials for structural support and draft-printing. We have used the Fab@Home personal fabrication system to produce multi-material edible 3D objects with cake frosting, chocolate, processed cheese, and peanut butter. These are just indicative of the range of potential edible materials and applications.
  • Item
    Layered Fabrication of Branched Networks Using Lindenmayer Systems
    (2007) Yasar, O.; Martin, M.; Harris, C.; Sun, S.; Starly, B.
    A current challenge impeding the growth of bone tissue engineering is the lack of functional scaffolds of geometric sizes greater than 10mm due to the inability of cells to survive deep within the scaffold. It is hypothesized that these scaffolds must have an inbuilt nutrient distribution network to sustain the uniform growth of cells. In this paper, we seek to enhance the design and layered fabrication of scaffold internal architecture through the development of Lindenmayer systems, a graphical language based theory to create nutrient delivery networks. The scaffolds are fabricated using the Texas Instruments DLP™ system through UV‐photopolymerization to produce polyethylene glycol hydrogels with internal branch structures. The paper will discuss the Lindenmayer system, process planning algorithms, layered fabrication of samples, challenges and future tasks.
  • Item
    Accuracy and Mechanical Properties of Open-Cell Microstructures Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering
    (2007) Eosoly, S.; Ryder, G.; Tansey, T.; Looney, L.
    This paper investigates the applicability of selective laser sintering (SLS) for the manufacture of scaffold geometries for bone tissue engineering applications. Porous scaffold geometries with open-cell structure and relative density of 10-60 v% were computationally designed and fabricated by selective laser sintering using polyamide powder. Strut and pore sizes ranging from 0.4 - 1 mm and 1.2 -2 mm are explored. The effect of process parameters on compressive properties and accuracy of scaffolds was examined and outline laser power and scan spacing were identified as significant factors. In general, the designed scaffold geometry was not accurately fabricated on the micron-scale. The smallest successfully fabricated strut and pore size was 0.4 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively. It was found that selective laser sintering has the potential to fabricate hard tissue engineering scaffolds. However the technology is not able to replicate exact geometries on the micron-scale but by accounting for errors resulting from the diameter of the laser and from the manufacturing induced geometrical deformations in different building directions, the exact dimensions of the manufactured scaffolds can be predicted and controlled indirectly, which corresponds favorably with its application in computer aided tissue engineering.
  • Item
    Deposition of Ti/TiC Composite Coatings on Implant Structures Using Laser Engineered Net Shaping
    (2007-09-05) Janaki Ram, G.D.; Yang, Y.; Stucker, B. E.
    A new method of depositing hard and wear resistant composite coatings on metal-onmetal bearing surfaces of titanium implant structures is proposed and demonstrated. The method consists of depositing a Ti/TiC composite coating (~ 2.5 mm thick) on titanium implant bearing surfaces using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS®). Defect-free composite coatings were successfully produced at various amounts of the reinforcing TiC phase with excellent interfacial characteristics using a mixture of commercially pure Ti and TiC powders. The coatings consisted of a mixture of coarser unmelted/partially melted (UMC) TiC particles and finer, discreet resolidified (RSC) TiC particles uniformly distributed in the titanium matrix. The amounts of UMC and RSC were found to increase with increasing TiC content of the original powder mixture. The coatings exhibited a high level of hardness, which increased with increasing TiC content of the original powder mixture. Fractographic studies indicated that the coatings, even at 60 vol.% TiC, do not fail in a brittle manner. Various aspects of LENS® deposition of Ti/TiC composite coatings are addressed and a preliminary understanding of structure-property-fracture correlations is presented. The current work shows that the proposed approach to deposit composite coatings using laser-based metal deposition processes is highly-effective, which can be readily utilized on a commercial basis for manufacture of high-performance implants.
  • Item
    Freeform Fabrication of a Complete Electrochemical Relay
    (2007-09-05) Malone, Evan; Lipson, Hod
  • Item
    Printing Embedded Circuits
    (2007-09-05) Periard, Daniel; Malone, Evan; Lipson, Hod
    Automated manufacturing technologies such as freeform fabrication can greatly reduce the cost and complexity of infrastructure required to manufacture unique devices or invent new technologies. Multi-material freeform fabrication processes under development have the potential to automatically build complete functional devices including electronics. Making this technology available to creative individuals will revolutionize art and invention, but requires extensive simplification and cost reduction of what is still a laboratory technology. The combination of a Fab@Home Model 1 personal fabrication system and commercially available materials allows the demonstration of simple and inexpensive freeform fabrication of functional embedded electrical circuits, and useful devices. Using this approach, we have been able to demonstrate an LED flashlight, functional printed circuit boards in 2-dimensions and 3- dimensions that are actually entirely printed, and a child’s toy with embedded circuitry. These results, and the materials and methods involved in producing them will be presented in detail.
  • Item
    Laser Sintering Fabrication of Highly Porous Models Utilizing Water Leachable Filler-Experimental Investigation into Process Parameters
    (2007) Niino, Toshiki; Oizumi, Shunsuke; Otsuki, Hiroyuki
    The authors are developing a laser sintering process to fabricate highly porous models with such high porosities as 90% and more. In the process, water-soluble filler is mixed with designated plastic powder and leached out after laser sintering process is finished to generate pores where the grains used to exist. Previously, the authors reported successful application of this technology on a tissue engineering scaffold. However, relationship between process parameters and obtained results has not been clarified. This paper reports experimental investigation into effects of optimizing process parameters such as mixture, grain size of the filler on resultant porosity, pore size and process resolution
  • Item
    The Use of Layered Freeform Fabrication Technologies to Produce Tissue Engineering Scaffolds for Skull Patches
    (2007-09-04) Purser, Molly; Cansizoglu, Omer; Haslauer, Carla; Harrysson, Ola L. A.; Loboa, Elizabeth
    Congenital skull defects in infants are difficult to correct using metal plates due to the growth of the skull. Tissue engineering of bone patches could be the answer to help such patients. Custom scaffolds have been designed based on Computed Tomography (CT) images of the patient’s skull. An in-house developed single screw extruder, casting and a commercial laser cutter has been evaluated in the fabrication of pure polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds as well as PCL mixed with hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds. Evaluation criteria for each process included the ability to maintain an optimal pore size for cells to proliferate, inclusion of micro surface properties for cell adhesion, incorporation of hydroxyapatite, and ability to maintain desired shape. The mechanical properties of the fabricated scaffolds will be presented in this paper as well as initial cell seeding results with human adipose-derived adult stem (hADAS) cells.
  • Item
    Analysis of the Effects of 3DP Parameters on Part Feature Dimensional Accuracy
    (2007) Szucs, Tamas D.; Brabazon, Dermot
    3D printing (3DP) is a widely investigated scaffold manufacturing process for Tissue Engineering (TE). Useful scaffold geometries should have high porosity (60-80%) with small (100-500 μm) interconnected pores. Therefore dimensional accuracy on the micron level is one of the crucial parameters of the bone scaffolds. Previously it was shown that the behavior of scaffold geometries can be well simulated with Finite Element Modeling (FEM) however the prediction of actual strength and stiffness values are dependent on dimensional accuracy. This accuracy is in turn dependent on several parameters including particle size and shape, powderbinder interaction, and machine setup. In this work different scaffold strut sizes (0.3 - 0.5 mm) have been fabricated using two different plaster powders (zp102 and zp130) with variations in shell saturation levels, part print position, and part print orientation. The parameters for each powder were analyzed using a full 35 factorial experimental design. It was found that the part size and orientation had a significant effect on the dimensional accuracy while the influence of the shell saturation and position was relatively small. The results allow for better dimensional specification for scaffold geometry fabrication by defining the process parameters in 3DP that may be used further in scaffold accuracy optimization.
  • Item
    Multi-Material Stereolithography: Spatially-Controlled Bioactive Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
    (2007-08-27) Arcaute, Karina; Zuverza, Nubia; Mann, Brenda; Wicker, Ryan
    Challenges remain in tissue engineering to control the spatial and temporal mechanical and biochemical architectures of scaffolds. Unique capabilities of stereolithography (SL) for fabricating multi-material spatially-controlled bioactive scaffolds were explored in this work. To accomplish multi-material builds with implantable materials, a new mini-vat setup was designed, constructed and placed on top of the existing build platform to allow for accurate and selfaligning X-Y registration during fabrication. Precise quantities of photocrosslinkable solution were added to and removed from the mini-vat using micro-pipettes. The mini-vat setup allowed the part to be easily removed and rinsed and different photocrosslinkable solutions could be easily removed and added to the vat to aid in multi-material fabrication. Two photocrosslinkable hydrogel biopolymers, poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) (PEG-dma, molecular wt 1,000) and poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate (PEG-da, molecular wt 3,400), were used as the primary scaffold materials, and controlled concentrations of fluorescently labeled dextran or bioactive PEG were prescribed and fabricated in different regions of the scaffold using SL. The equilibrium swelling behavior of the two biopolymers after SL fabrication was determined and used to design constructs with the specified dimensions at the swollen state. Two methods were used to measure the spatial gradients enabled by this process with multi-material spatial control successfully demonstrated down to 500-µm. First, the presence of the fluorescent component in specific regions of the scaffold was analyzed with fluorescent microscopy. Second, human dermal fibroblast cells were seeded on top of the fabricated scaffolds with selective bioactivity, and phase contrast microscopy images were used to show specific localization of cells in the regions patterned with bioactive PEG. The use of multi-material SL and the relative ease of conjugating different bioactive ligands or growth factors to PEG allows for the fabrication of tailored three-dimensional constructs with specified spatially-controlled bioactivity.
  • Item
    Freeform Fabrication of Biological Scaffolds by Projection Photopolymerization
    (2007-09-04) Han, Li-Hsin; Mapili, Gazill; Chen, Shaochen; Roy, Krishnendu
    This article presents a micro-manufacturing method for direct, projection printing of 3- dimensional (3D) scaffolds for applications in the field of tissue engineering by using a digital micro-mirror-array device (DMD) in a layer-by-layer process. Multi-layered scaffolds are microfabricated using curable materials through an ultraviolet (UV) photopolymerization process. The pre-patterned UV light is projected onto the photocurable polymer solution by creating the “photomask” design with graphic software. Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), is mixed with a small amount of dye (0.3 wt %) to enhance the fabrication resolution of the scaffold. The DMD fabrication system is equipped with a purging mechanism to prevent the accumulation of oligomer, which could interfere with the feature resolution of previously polymerized layers. The surfaces of the pre-designed, multi-layered scaffold are covalently conjugated with fibronectin for efficient cellular attachment. Our results show that murine marrow-derived progenitor cells successfully attached to fibronectin-modified scaffolds.
  • Item
    Automated Design of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds by Advanced CAD
    (2007) Ramin, E.; Harris, R. A.
    The design of scaffolds with an intricate and controlled internal structure represents a challenge for Tissue Engineering. Several scaffold manufacturing techniques allow the creation of complex and random architectures, but have little or no control over geometrical parameters such as pore size, shape and interconnectivity- things that are essential for tissue regeneration. The combined use of CAD software and layer manufacturing techniques allow a high degree of control over those parameters, resulting in reproducible geometrical architectures. However, the design of the complex and intricate network of channels that are required in conventional CAD, is extremely time consuming: manually setting thousands of different geometrical parameters may require several days in which to design the individual scaffold structures. This research proposes an automated design methodology in order to overcome those limitations. The combined use of Object Oriented Programming and advanced CAD software, allows the rapid generation of thousands of different geometrical elements. Each has a different set of parameters that can be changed by the software, either randomly or according to a given mathematical formula, so that they match the different distribution of geometrical elements such as pore size and pore interconnectivity. This work describes a methodology that has been used to design five cubic scaffolds with pore size ranging from about 200 to 800 µm, each with an increased complexity of the internal geometry.
  • Item
    LENS® and SFF: Enabling Technologies for Optimized Structures
    (2007) Gill, D. D.; Atwood, C. J.; Voth, T. E.; Robbins, J.; Dewhurst, P.; Taggart, D. G.
    Optimized, lightweight, high-strength structures are needed in many applications from aerospace to automotive. In pursuit of such structures, there have been proposed analytical solutions and some specialized FEA solutions for specific structures such as automobile frames. However, generalized 3D optimization methods have been unavailable for use by most designers. Moreover, in the cases where optimized structural solutions are available, they are often hollow, curving, thin wall structures that cannot be fabricated by conventional manufacturing methods. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Rhode Island teamed to solve these problems. The team has been pursuing two methods of optimizing models for generalized loading conditions, and also has been investigating the methods needed to fabricate these structures using Laser Engineered Net Shaping™ (LENS®) and other rapid prototyping methods. These solid freeform fabrication (SFF) methods offer the unique ability to make hollow, high aspect ratio features out of many materials. The manufacturing development required for LENS to make these complex structures has included the addition of rotational axes to Sandia’s LENS machine bringing the total to 5 controlled axes. The additional axes have required new efforts in process planning. Several of the unique structures that are only now possible through the use of SFF technology are shown as part of the discussion of this exciting new application for SFF.
  • Item
    Multiscale Design for Solid Freeform Fabrication
    (2007) Seepersad, Carolyn Conner; Shahan, David; Madhavan, Kaarthic
    One of the advantages of solid freeform fabrication is the ability to fabricate complex structures on multiple scales, from the macroscale features of an overall part to the mesoscale topology of its internal architecture and even the microstructure or composition of the constituent material. This manufacturing freedom poses the challenge of designing across these scales, especially when a part with designed mesostructure is part of a larger system with changing requirements that propagate across scales. A setbased multiscale design method is presented for coordinating design across scales and reducing iterative redesign of SFF parts and their mesostructures. The method is applied to design a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle system. The system is decomposed into disciplinary subsystems and constituent parts, including wings with honeycomb mesostructures that are topologically tailored for stiffness and strength and fabricated with selective laser sintering. The application illustrates how the design of freeform parts can be coordinated more efficiently with the design of parent systems.
  • Item
    Design for Additive Manufacturing: A Method to Explore Unexplored Regions of the Design Space
    (2007) Rosen, David W.
    Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies enable the fabrication of parts and devices that are geometrically complex, have graded material compositions, and can be customized. To take advantage of these capabilities, it is important to assist designers in exploring unexplored regions of design spaces. We present a Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) method that encompasses conceptual design, process selection, later design stages, and design for manufacturing. The method is based on the process-structure-property-behavior model that is common in the materials design literature. A prototype CAD system is presented that embodies the method. Manufacturable ELements (MELs) are proposed as an intermediate representation for supporting the manufacturing related aspects of the method. Examples of cellular materials are used to illustrate the DFAM method.
  • Item
    Comparison of Material Properties and Microstructure of Specimens Built Using the 3D Systems Vanguard HS and Vanguard HiQ+HSSLS Systems
    (2007) Silverman, T. J.; Hall, A.; South, B.; Yong, W.; Koo, J. H.
    The HiQ upgrade to the 3D Systems Vanguard selective laser sintering (SLS) machine incorporates a revised thermal calibration system and new control software. The paper compares the tensile modulus, tensile strength, elongation at break, flexural modulus, Izod impact resistance and microstructure of two batteries of standard specimens built from recycled Duraform PA (Nylon 12). The first set is built on a Vanguard HS system and the second on the same system with the HiQ upgrade installed. The upgrade reduces user intervention, decreases total build time and improves surface finish. However, using the default processing parameters, tensile, flexure and impact properties are all found to decline after the upgrade is installed.
  • Item
    Effect of Surface Preparation Methods on Mechanical Properties of 3D Structures Fabricated by Stereolithography and 3D Printing for Electroless Ni Plating
    (2007) Joseph, Shine; Quiñones, Stella; Medina, Frank; Wicker, Ryan
    Stereolithography (SL) and 3D Printing (3DP) are useful technologies for three-dimensional prototyping applications, providing highly accurate and detailed part geometries with high quality surface finishes. It is desired to improve the materials performance of the existing photocurable SL and 3DP resins for rapid tooling and other functional applications by applying a nickel (Ni) coating. In this work, surface preparation methods for electroless plating of commercial photopolymer resins such as NanoFormTM15120 (NanoForm) and Objet FullCure®840 (Veroblue) were explored in order to enhance the structural integrity of RP components. This study examined different surface preparation methods (chemical etching) and their effect on the surface morphology and mechanical strength of the polymers. It was observed that surface preparation of the resins significantly affected the mechanical properties and Ni plating of the substrate polymers. This is a critical step, since the Ni film takes on the surface structure of the substrate.