Additive Manufacturing Teaching Lab

This student-built powder bed fusion (PBF) printer is designed for studying the effects of process parameters that cannot typically be varied by users of industrial PBF printers. These parameters include scan strategies, laser power, laser spot size, and material spreading. The build volume is 100 x 100 x 40 mm, and the minimum layer thickness is 0.040 mm.

Materials

Steels, nickel-based super alloys, aluminum alloys, and titanium alloys

Build Envelope

100 × 100 × 40 mm

The student-built direct ink write (DIW) 3D printer is designed for testing viscous additive manufacturing materials and studying the effects of process parameters on the additive manufacturability of these materials. The printer is equipped with several pressurized dispensing heads that allow it to print a variety of materials, including two-part (2K) mixtures, ranging in viscosity from 1cP to greater than 150,000 cP. Customizable print parameters include dispensing and slicing strategies, machine feeds and speeds, dispensing pressure, filament/nozzle diameter, and material curing methods. The machine also incorporates print monitoring equipment, including thermal and high-speed cameras. The build volume is 500 x 300 x 100 mm, with a minimum layer height of 0.040 mm.

Materials

Various viscous materials

Build Envelope

500 × 300 × 100 mm

The EOS M270 is an industrial-grade, research-focused powder bed fusion (PBF) printer that is equipped with in situ imaging capabilities for studying the physics of the PBF process and how they are affected by printing process parameters. It can deposit layers 0.020–0.100 mm thick.

Materials

Steels and nickel-based superalloys

Build Envelope

250 × 250 × 215 mm

The HP MultiJet Fusion 580 is a multi-agent binder jetting system capable of full-color functional parts in nylon (PA 12). It provides voxel-level control of material appearance and properties and can produce parts a up to 10x the speed of other traditional polymer additive manufacturing systems.

Materials

Nylon (polyamide 12)

Build Envelope

190 × 332 × 248 mm

The CeraFab 7500 facilitates the production of high-performance ceramics that possess equal or better material properties as those achieved using conventional manufacturing processes. By eliminating the need for tools and by keeping the level of material consumption throughout the production process to a minimum, it is possible to economically manufacture prototypes and small batches of high-performance ceramic parts. Layer thickness is 10–100 μm.

Materials

Standard materials: aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon nitride, 
Materials for special applications: tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, silica-based materials
See other materials that Lithoz has processed using its LCM technology.

Build Envelope

76 × 43 × 170 mm

Small bench-top electromechanical load frame with a variety of fixtures for applying tensile, compressive, and bending loads to standard and atypical geometries. It is positioned on an optical breadboard to allow for image acquisition and analysis, such as digital image correlation (DIC) strain measurements. These are particularly important for complex printed geometries where the failure locations can be unintuitive. It has a force capacity of 6,700 N, resolution as low as 0.02 N, and a stroke of 800 mm.

The Markforged Mark Two is a high-end desktop material extrusion printer with a variety of easily adjustable parameters, making it well suited for everything from educational to industrial applications. It can deposit layers 0.100–0.200 mm thick.

Materials

The Mark Two prints chopped carbon fiber reinforced nylon (Onyx) with the option of continuous fiber reinforcement (carbon fiber, Kevlar, fiber glass, and high-temperature, high-strength fiberglass), which allows for selective and local enhancement of mechanical properties.

Build Envelope

320 × 132 × 154 mm

The Stratasys Objet Eden260VS is a high-resolution material jetting printer compatible with a broad range of proprietary UV-curable resins. The spectrum of cured resin properties include thermally stable, high strength, high stiffness, high ductility, rubber-like, variable color, and easily removable support material. It can deposit layers with a thickness as low as 0.016 mm and feature accuracy as low as 0.020 mm.

Materials

UV-curable resins

Build Envelope

255 × 252 × 200 mm

The Stratasys F170 is an industrial-grade material extrusion printer that can produce service-ready components as well as low-cost rapid prototypes. It is capable of printing PLA, ABS, ASA, TPU 92A (a durable elastomer), and soluble support material. It deposits layers 0.127–0.330 mm thick and has 0.200 mm overall part accuracy.

Materials

PLA, ABS, ASA, TPU 92A (a durable elastomer), and soluble support material

Build Envelope

254 × 254 × 254 mm

Handheld 3D scanner that generates full-color digital files, which can be easily imported into commercial CAD software or directly to a printer. The Geomagic software can perform feature recognition and create solid files. The scan is 30 fps with 50,000 points per frame, and accuracy of 0.04 mm.