A Magnetic Field Accelerated Composites Volumetric Additive Manufacturing
Topic(s) : Manufacturing
Co-authors :
Hamed YAZDANI NEZHAD (UNITED KINGDOM), Pantea PANTEA AFSHARI (UNITED KINGDOM), Mahdi BODAGHI (UNITED KINGDOM), Cristian LIRA (UNITED KINGDOM)Abstract :
Volumetric additive manufacturing (AM) of composites is an emerging manufacturing area of research and development with the potential to revolutionise all parts manufacturing. However, one of the primary hurdles is achieving a time/cost-effective AM process capable of precise control over material properties and reinforcement distribution in complex geometries. This is essential for mass-producing advanced composites with optimal geometries and multi-functional performance while maintaining cost-effectiveness and eco-friendliness (energy saving and emission-less). Balancing speed and cost-effectiveness while maintaining the quality of the composite parts designed across various scales (e.g. multi-functional ciliated composite) is a significant challenge that researchers and manufacturers are addressing. Material selection and compatibility are also crucial, ensuring that a process-evolving polymer and reinforcing fillers are well-matched to optimising the composite's multi-functional properties. Achieving such compatibility between the matrix material and reinforcing fillers is a complex task since the choice of materials significantly influences the performance and durability of the processed composite, thus finding suitable combinations that are both cost-effective and high-performing is still an ongoing challenge.
While acknowledging the persisting challenges above, the current research article studies the feasibility of the adaptive character of a novel composite AM process that can be achieved via using magnetic fields to assist with composites' geometric tailoring and field induced reinforcement adjustment. The feasibility aims to significantly reduce composites’ production duration via rapidly and volumetrically generating complex geometries (e.g. possessing double curvature) out of the basic geometries created using AM (e.g. cubes). Therefore, a novel volumetric AM (VAM) can be proposed that may be interfaced with the existing 3D printing processes for speeding up their production.
A controlled magnetic field equipped VAM process rig has been setup in laboratory scale with a conventional filament-based 3D printing machine using a 1.75mm-diameter nozzle, capable of altering the magnetic strength, orientation, and distance to the processed composite as the process kinetics is undertaken at the nozzle and platform temperatures of 220°C and 60°C, respectively. A magnetically enhanced polylactic acid (PLA) filament with reinforced iron microparticles is used for the case studies examined. The real-time kinematics of the geometric tailoring during the proposed VAM process, and over the entire geometry of the processed composite, is assessed via instrumenting the rig with optical and thermal measurements. The correlation of the process parameters with the experimental data is conducted to understand the process induced deficiencies, e.g. layers separation, and improvements, e.g. layers bonding, under the application of magnetic fields in situ.
While acknowledging the persisting challenges above, the current research article studies the feasibility of the adaptive character of a novel composite AM process that can be achieved via using magnetic fields to assist with composites' geometric tailoring and field induced reinforcement adjustment. The feasibility aims to significantly reduce composites’ production duration via rapidly and volumetrically generating complex geometries (e.g. possessing double curvature) out of the basic geometries created using AM (e.g. cubes). Therefore, a novel volumetric AM (VAM) can be proposed that may be interfaced with the existing 3D printing processes for speeding up their production.
A controlled magnetic field equipped VAM process rig has been setup in laboratory scale with a conventional filament-based 3D printing machine using a 1.75mm-diameter nozzle, capable of altering the magnetic strength, orientation, and distance to the processed composite as the process kinetics is undertaken at the nozzle and platform temperatures of 220°C and 60°C, respectively. A magnetically enhanced polylactic acid (PLA) filament with reinforced iron microparticles is used for the case studies examined. The real-time kinematics of the geometric tailoring during the proposed VAM process, and over the entire geometry of the processed composite, is assessed via instrumenting the rig with optical and thermal measurements. The correlation of the process parameters with the experimental data is conducted to understand the process induced deficiencies, e.g. layers separation, and improvements, e.g. layers bonding, under the application of magnetic fields in situ.