Faculty: Andres Tovar (PI), Hazim El-Mouhayri, Jing Zhang
Students: Carl Marko (BS), Jorge Antonio Ortiz (BS)
Our Additive Manufacturing Lab focuses on the processing of engineering structures and materials. This lab is equipped with commercial 3D printers including one AirWolf AW3DXL Deluxe (AirFolf 3D Printers, Costa Mesa, California), two Steam Engine printers (3D Parts Manufacturing, Indianapolis, Indiana), a Form 1+ and a Form 2 (FormLabs, Somerville, Massachusetts). In addition, our lab has over a dozen of in-house 3D printers and filament extrusion systems. New in-house 3D printers (FDM and SLA) are currently under development.
Faculty: Andres Tovar (PI), Lingxi Li
Students:Aaron Isaacs, Carl Marko, Zongying "Ivy" Xu, Abigail Curdes, Daniel Rodriguez Gambetta, Carolina Cardona-Serrano, Jeevia Santhanaraj
The overall objective of this research is to develop the filament extrusion technology that will reduce the cost of FFF in the 3D printing of plastic parts. To accomplish this overall research objective, two specific research objectives are proposed. The first specific research objective is to produce high quality thermoplastic filament for FFF obtained from injection molding grade pellets. Therefore, the first expected outcome is the design of a RepRap extruder with the ability to transform pellets into filament for 3D printing. The second specific research objective is to incorporate and control this filament extrusion technology into a RepRap 3D printing system designed and fabricated at IUPUI. The expected result is the design of a RepRap system with the ability to 3D print using inexpensive injection molding grade pellets. This system will be developed and tested for ABS but it will be also extensible to other plastics. In closing, we want to positively impact AM research, advance the communities body of knowledge, and open up new markets.
Faculty: Andres Tovar (PI)
Students: Fabian Lischke (MS)
Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) makes it possible to fabricate complex designs. One of the main challenges faced in Additive Manufacturing is reduce the overall cost and printing time. An important factor in cost and time reduction the postprocessing of the printed part, which includes the remosion of support structures. Support structes are typically used in addition to the model when it must be printed on surfaces due to geometric provisions and the print not possessing self-support. In this research, analytical calculations as well as physical tests are carried out to determine the material properties of the thermoplastic polymer Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) through fused deposition modeling (FDM). A finite element model is developed and calibrated to match the physical tests. The deformation of unsupported faces is predicted using nonlinear finite element analysis. This prediction allows a preliminary determination of relevant support on the basis of the developed simulation model. Design rules and results of this research are summarized and included. By applying these design rules, the user is able to manufacture models that optimize printing efficiency in the area of FDM 3D printing.
Faculty: Joerg Schreiber
Graduate Students: Ali Tarraf
Support from: Terri Talbert-Hatch, Fabian Lischke, Eduardo Salcedo Jr, Mike Kostelnik, Andres Tovar
Design and additive manufacturing (3D priting) of student project in ME 262 Mechanical Design I (spring 2016). In this class, the basic concepts of mechanical design are introduced with emphasis on use of computer-aided design techniques. Applications are chosen from the area of linkage and mechanism design. Lab involves implementation of computer techniques in solving mechanical design problems. See the Students Project Portfolio.
