Mechanical properties of photocurable additive manufacturing micro-scale isotropic lattice structure

• Main Author: Tan, Jian Cong
• Other Authors: Hu Xiao
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/156900
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In recent years, the advancement in additive manufacturing have enable the fabrication of complex lattice structure which are previously not attainable to fabricate with traditional manufacturing methods. Lattice structure is an ordered, three dimensional open celled structures made up of one or more repeating unit cell which multiple lattice nodes are connected by beams. 3D lattice structure provides several mechanical advantages such as improved strength to weight ratio, increased surface area, better shock absorption and reduced part cost [1]. As the amount of material used in the structure have a direct relationship to the mechanical performance of the lattice structure, therefore, there is a need to study the relationship between the mechanical performance and its relative density of the lattice structure. In this study, isotropic lattice structure is designed using 3D Solidworks software with different relative density and generated via Projection Micro-Stereolithography (PµSL) additive manufacturing method. Subsequently, the compression properties of various lattice structure are explored through experiment test and Finite Element simulation Results show a general trend that the mechanical performance of the lattice structure increases as the structure become denser. Additionally, these isotropic lattice structure have competitive specific energy absorption compared to stainless steel lattices, indicating potential for applications needing unique combination of high energy absorption, strength, and light weight.