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Structural optimization of printed structures by self-organized relaxation

Andrea Zocca (Department of Ceramic Processing and Biomaterials, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany)
Cynthia Gomes (Department of Materials Engineering, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany)
Ulf Linow (Department of Ceramic Processing and Biomaterials, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany)
Heidi Marx (Department of Ceramic Processing and Biomaterials, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany)
Jörg Melcher (Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems, German Aerospace Center DLR, Braunschweig, Germany)
Paolo Colombo (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, University of Padova, Padova, Italy)
Jens Günster (Department of Ceramic Processing and Biomaterials, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 21 March 2016

545

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present an additive manufacturing-based approach in which a new strategy for a thermally activated local melting and material flow, which results in densification of printed structures, is introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

For enabling this self-organized relaxation of printed objects by the viscous flow of material, two interconnected structures are printed simultaneously in one printing process, namely, Structure A actually representing the three dimensional object to be built and Structure B acting as a material reservoir for infiltrating Structure A. In an additional process step, subsequent to the printing job, an increase in the objects’ temperature results in the melting of the material reservoir B and infiltration of structure A.

Findings

A thermally activated local melting of the polymethylsilsesquioxane results in densification of the printed structures and the local formation of structures with minimum surface area.

Originality/value

The present work introduces an approach for the local relaxation of printed three-dimensional structures by the viscous flow of the printed material, without the loss of structural integrity of the structure itself. This approach is not restricted only to the materials used, but also offers a more general strategy for printing dense structures with a surface finish far beyond the volumetric resolution of the 3D printing process.

Keywords

Citation

Zocca, A., Gomes, C., Linow, U., Marx, H., Melcher, J., Colombo, P. and Günster, J. (2016), "Structural optimization of printed structures by self-organized relaxation", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 344-349. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-07-2014-0087

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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