Open Source Multi-Head 3D Printer for Polymer-Metal Composite Component Manufacturing

Laureto, John J.; Pearce, Joshua M.

doi:10.3390/technologies5020036

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…As both NF PLA composites have been previously investigated and PP 3-D is possible, it would be interesting to investigate single material sandwich structures of both PP+flax and PLA+flax in the future. To make this realistic from a manufacturing perspective, the lattice structures could be printed in a multi-head 3-D printer[58] using the sheets as substrates. The final layer of the sandwich could be bonded thermally or with adhesives.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical properties of 3-D printed truss-like lattice biopolymer non-stochastic structures for sandwich panels with natural fibre composite skins

Azzouz

Chen

Zarrelli

et al. 2019

Composite Structures

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical properties of 3-D printed truss-like lattice biopolymer non-stochastic structures for sandwich panels with natural fibre composite skins

Azzouz

Chen

Zarrelli

et al. 2019

Composite Structures

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“…Finally, future work could probe the use of distributed manufacturing of polymer [19,20] or polymer composites [61] with UV (ultraviolet) and temperature protection for the conversion kits to reduce the cost of BIPV design investigated here even further.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Post-Consumer Modification of Standard Solar Modules to Form Large-Area Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Roof Slates

Pearce

Meldrum²,

Osborne³

2017

Designs

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Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems have improved aesthetics but generally cost far more than conventional PV systems because of small manufacturing scale. Thus, in the short and medium term, there is a need for a BIPV mounting system that utilizes conventional modules. Such a design is provided here with a novel modification of conventional photovoltaic (PV) modules to allow them to act as BIPV roofing slates. The open-source designs for the mechanical components necessary to provide the post-consumer conversion for a conventional PV module are provided, and prototypes are fabricated and installed on a mock roof system along with control modules mounted conventionally. The approximately U.S.$22/module BIPV roof-mounted system is direct mounted on the roof to eliminate the need for roofing shingles or other coverings, which effectively provides a 20% total cost reduction from conventional racking systems that demand a roof to mount upon without considering the savings from the rack itself. The results of the outdoor system testing found no water leaks. An increased operating temperature was observed, which would reduce the output from a silicon-based PV module by less than 10%. The results found significant potential for this design to further reduce total PV systems costs.

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“…This trend could be further supported by adopting new far more diverse polymer recycling codes to further expand the materials selection while reducing costs [94]. In addition, there is a large potential for research into new composite filaments with TPE as the matrix and carbon or steel fiber as reinforcement [105][106][107][108][109]. This could open new possibilities for 3-D printing belts that do not stretch and deform (while enabling the RepRap community one step closer to complete self-replication).…”

Section: Likelihood Of a Consumer Buying A 3-d Printer For Savingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Manufacturing of Flexible Products: Technical Feasibility and Economic Viability

Woern

Pearce

2017

Technologies

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Abstract:Distributed manufacturing even at the household level is now well established with the combined use of open source designs and self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3-D printers. Previous work has shown substantial economic consumer benefits for producing their own polymer products. Now flexible filaments are available at roughly 3-times the cost of more conventional 3-D printing materials. To provide some insight into the potential for flexible filament to be both technically feasible and economically viable for distributed digital manufacturing at the consumer level this study investigates 20 common flexible household products. The 3-D printed products were quantified by print time, electrical energy use and filament consumption by mass to determine the cost to fabricate with a commercial RepRap 3-D printer. Printed parts were inspected and when necessary tested for their targeted application to ensure technical feasibility. Then, the experimentally measured cost to DIY manufacturers was compared to low and high market prices for comparable commercially available products. In addition, the mark-up and potential for long-term price declines was estimated for flexible filaments by converting thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) pellets into filament and reground TPE from a local recycling center into filament using an open source recyclebot. This study found that commercial flexible filament is economically as well as technically feasible for providing a means of distributed home-scale manufacturing of flexible products. The results found a 75% savings when compared to the least expensive commercially equivalent products and 92% when compared to high market priced products. Roughly, 160 flexible objects must be substituted to recover the capital costs to print flexible materials. However, as previous work has shown the Lulzbot Mini 3-D printer used in this study would provide more than a 100% ROI printing one object a week from hard thermoplastics, the upgrade needed to provide flexible filament capabilities can be accomplished with 37 average substitution flexible prints. This, again easily provides a triple digit return on investment printing one product a week. Although these savings, which are created by printing objects at home are substantial, the results also have shown the savings could be further increased to 93% when the use of a pellet extruder and TPE pellets, and 99% if recycled TPE filament made with a recyclebot is used. The capital costs of a recyclebot can be recovered in the manufacturing of about 9 kg of TPE filament, which can be accomplished in less than a week, enabling improved environmental impact as well as a strong financial return for heavy 3-D printer users.

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Open Source Multi-Head 3D Printer for Polymer-Metal Composite Component Manufacturing

Cited by 19 publications

References 55 publications

Mechanical properties of 3-D printed truss-like lattice biopolymer non-stochastic structures for sandwich panels with natural fibre composite skins

Mechanical properties of 3-D printed truss-like lattice biopolymer non-stochastic structures for sandwich panels with natural fibre composite skins

Design of Post-Consumer Modification of Standard Solar Modules to Form Large-Area Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Roof Slates

Distributed Manufacturing of Flexible Products: Technical Feasibility and Economic Viability

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