ii Dedicated to my family.iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although my name is the only one featured on the title for this thesis, many people have devoted their time and effort to make the research successful. I thank everybody for their support and assistance to made this research possible.I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Andrés Tovar. With Dr. Tovar, I have been blessed to have an advisor, who gave me the freedom to explore the area of interest by myself but also guided me and was an excellent mentor in every situation. Dr.Tovar helped me understand how to challenge an idea and to get more out of it. With his guidance I was able to look outside the box and push the research forward. With his trust, Dr. Tovar gave me the confidence in every situation to finish this thesis.
During this research I was honored to work with Eduardo Salcedo. He is a undergraduate student in Motorsports Engineering and his interest and knowledge in3D printing is outstanding. Eduardo was a great help in not only providing his 3D printer, the MakerBot Replicator 2X, but he also helped in the study of self-supported structures. The discussions I had with him, helped as an input for the tests and results in this study.Last but not least, I want to say thank you to my family. It is hard to live in a new country by yourself. With the help and support of my family over the last two years I have overcome setbacks and stay focused on my graduate study. My family made it possible for me to gain my graduate experience at IUPUI and for that, I will cherish forever.