April_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | A P R I L 2 0 2 0 8 0 3D PRINTSHOP Guha Manogharan of Penn State, far right, with graduate students in his lab. A new 3D printing method holds promise for making soft objects such as biological tissue and organs. SAND PRINTING ADVANCES CASTING SCIENCE Guha Manogharan, assistant pro- fessor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, is working on a new project that he believes could transform the fundamentals of casting science. He is studying 3D design principles based on sand casting and 3D sand printing. The research is being supported by a $504,000 National Science Founda- tion Faculty Early Career Development grant. “Although sand casting is one of the most widely used manufacturing processes, the fundamental approach has largely been unchanged for sever- al decades,” says Manogharan. “On the other hand, additive manufacturing, specifically 3D sand printing, allows us to explore unparalleled design freedom to produce complex molds.” He plans to integrate AM by reim- agining 3D mold geometries to reduce defects that are common in traditional sand casting. 3D sand printing is used to create complex large castings for auto- motive, defense, aerospace, and naval applications, among others. According to Manogharan, more than 90% of cast- ing defects occur due to improper gat- ing and feeding systems. “Now, we can reimagine all of these designs using 3D printing,” he says. Manogharan plans to work with the Foundry Education Foun- dation, a network of certified universi- ties including Penn State that advance the science of metal casting. He plans to share both research and educational outcomes with foundry educators from 30 universities across the U.S. psu.edu . SOFT OBJECTS IN 30 SECONDS Researchers at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, developed a high-preci- sion method for 3D printing small, soft objects. The process, which takes less than 30 seconds, has potential appli- cations in several areas, including bio- printing. The new technique, developed by a team at EPFL’s Laboratory of Ap- plied Photonics Devices, can be used to make tiny objects with unprecedented precision and resolution in record time. A spin-off company, Readily3D, will fur- ther develop and market the system. The technology could have numerous applications, but its advantages over existing methods—the ability to print solid parts of different textures—make it especially promising for medicine and biology. The process could be used tomake soft objects such as tissue, organs, and hearing aids. The printer works by send- ing a laser through a translucent gel, ei- ther a biological gel or liquid plastic as required. “The laser hardens the liquid through a process of polymerization. Depending on what we’re building, we use algorithms to calculate exact- ly where we need to aim the beams, from what angles, and at what dose,” explains Paul Delrot, Readily3D’s CTO. The system is now capable of making 2-cm structures with 80 µm precision. But as the team develops new devic- es, they should be able to build much larger objects, potentially up to 15 cm. www.epfl.ch/en. Retech Systems, acquired by Velo3D, Campbell, Calif., and Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, announced a partnership to qualify Velo3D’s Sapphire system for 3D print production of aircraft components. The system was selected for its ability to build highly complex geometries without the need for support structures. The qualification process is focused on Inconel and should be complete by the third quarter. velo3d.com . MTS Systems Corp., Eden Prairie, Minn., announced a strategic alliance with Auburn University in Alabama to accelerate AM research and test development. Auburn is home to the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME). MTS will supply test equipment to the NCAME mechanical testing lab and share expertise to advance mechanical testing methods for AM materials and components. mts.com. BRIEFS Courtesy of Velo3D.