Development of in-situ alignment of particles in digital light processing 3D printing

• Main Author: Cho, Reuben Wei Pin
• Other Authors: Su Pei-Chen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/167712
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This Final Year Project aims to design an ultrasound-assisted set-up for Digital Light Printing (DLP) to align Iron (II, III) Oxide (Fe3O4) microparticles (IOMP) in resin and evaluate its effectiveness for DLP printing of Fe3O4-filler Shape Memory Polymer (SMP). The study examines the effect of varying ultrasound radiation duration on the alignment of IOMP in the resin and their mechanical properties. The project evaluates multiple design concepts based on effectiveness of alignment, modularity, durability and ease of fabrication. The selected design is fabricated and evaluated for its effectiveness in aligning Fe3O4 particles in the resin and printing them. The experiment uses various methods, including the cure depth test to examine printing properties, visual inspection to observe alignment patterns, and the tensile test to determine mechanical properties. Results show that an optimal duration of 20 seconds for ultrasound radiation provides thin and well aligned Fe3O4 particles. Incorporating Fe3O4 particles in SMP leads to a decline in mechanical properties, but activating ultrasound radiation improves properties such as ultimate tensile strength and Young's modulus. The ultrasound-assisted set-up for DLP successfully prints ultrasound radiated and aligned IOMP in resin, producing better mechanical properties compared to the neat resin and IOMP resin without ultrasound radiation. This project designs and fabricates an ultrasound-assisted set-up for DLP 3D printing and evaluates the effectiveness of aligning IOMP in the resin.