In this paper, a new possibility of fabricating a metal lattice structure with a continuous rod is demonstrated. A multi-layer, periodic, and aperiodic lattice structure can be manufactured with a continuous thin rod by bending it with a repetitive pattern. However, joining their nodes are challenging and an important problem to solve. This paper is investigating the joining of nodes in a loose lattice structure by delivering materials through the dipping process. Both liquid state (epoxy) and solid-state (inorganic particles) joining agents are considered for polymer–metal and metal–metal bonding, respectively. Liquid Carrier Systems (LCS) are designed considering their rheological behavior. We found 40% solid loading with the liquid carrier system provides sufficient solid particles transfer at dipping and join the lattice node using transient liquid phase bonding (TLP). 3D metal lattice structures are constructed, and their mechanical properties are investigated. The lattice structure shows comparable strength even with smaller relative density (< 10%). The strength and elastic modulus of all the fabricated samples decreases with the increase in cell size, which is consistent with the traditional wisdom.

Cellular solids have diverse potential applications such as mechanical, thermal, phononic, and biological applications. However, the fabrication of cellular structure with the 3D printing process is often infeasible due to the anisotropies, fabrication imperfections, and for that, a significant amount of resources is required. In this paper, we have analyzed the preprocessing knowledge base of extrusion-based 3d printing and contemplated it with post-processing performance measurement for lattice structure printing. We considered cuboid cell type micro and macro lattice structures for our analysis. To compare cuboid with truss, a single unit cell is printed, and its compressive strength is measured. Three different patterns (traditional micro infill, interlocked macro assembly, traditional macro strut) are designed and fabricated to investigate the effects of design strategy and mechanical performance. We have found anisotropic behavior in the fabricated structure as expected in traditional print. However, interlocked assembly based cuboid structure has demonstrated uniformity for both inplane and out of plane load. Furthermore, we have found that the applied load type has a bigger impact on the performance of the printed structure and should be considered during their preprocessing stage.