Collaborative Research: A Novel Control Strategy for 3D Printing of Micro-Scale Devices

协作研究：微型设备 3D 打印的新型控制策略

• 批准号: 1434693
• 负责人: Kira Barton
• 金额: $ 33.13万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1434693&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Novel; Control; Strategy

Additive manufacturing systems, often called 3D printers, are poised to displace conventional manufacturing operations in many meso-scale applications (parts from 1 to 100 millimeters in size). Similarly, 3D printing at the micro-scale (from 0.001 to 0.1 millimeters in size) has the potential to revolutionize the way that biological and chemical sensors and integrated circuits are prototyped and manufactured. 3D printers build up complex parts by depositing one thin layer of material at a time. Electrohydrodynamic jet, or e-jet, printing is a promising micro-scale version of this process. This project will add sensors to a standard e-jet printer, and apply an innovative control law to greatly improve the precision of the resulting parts. The control law is based on the observation that 3D printed features typically change very little from one layer to the next. By observing how a layer deviates from its desired shape, the baseline e-jet control can be modified to improve the accuracy of the next layer. In this project, an atomic force microscope will be integrated with an e-jet printer to measure the shape of each layer. To better correct the printing process, the electric field around each layer will also be measured. The technical research plan is integrated with educational outreach to initiate undergraduate "micro-maker" clubs and catalyze an open-source, bottom-up movement based on inexpensive ink-jet printing of custom microcircuits and sensors.Micro-scale Additive Manufacturing, and in particular, electrohydrodynamic jet printing, has the potential to revolutionize 3D, functional, micro-scale device fabrication. Limiting this step change in manufacturing capabilities is the reliance of micro-scale Additive Manufacturing systems on a process monitoring, regulation, and quality control paradigm that is performed post-process and in an ad hoc manner. This research will break this open-loop paradigm by generating fundamental scientific knowledge in two areas: 1) the synthesis of a controls theoretic framework to compensate for spatial disturbances with a robust and computationally efficient learning-based algorithm and 2) the study of interactions between charged jets of materials and substrates in electrohydrodynamic jet printing using first principles physics models and validated by empirical studies leveraging a novel integration of electrohydrodynamic jet printing and atomic force microscopy. This research will contribute the fundamental knowledge required to transform 3D micro-scale Additive Manufacturing from a nascent, open-loop and ad hoc technology set to a fully automated, accurate, and robust closed-loop system.

增材制造系统（通常称为 3D 打印机）有望在许多中型应用（尺寸从 1 毫米到 100 毫米的零件）中取代传统制造操作。同样，微尺度（尺寸从 0.001 到 0.1 毫米）的 3D 打印有可能彻底改变生物和化学传感器以及集成电路的原型设计和制造方式。 3D 打印机通过一次沉积一层薄薄​​的材料来构建复杂的零件。电流体动力喷射或电子喷射印刷是该过程的一个有前途的微型版本。该项目将在标准电子喷射打印机上添加传感器，并应用创新的控制法则来大大提高最终零件的精度。控制律基于这样的观察：3D 打印特征通常从一层到下一层的变化很小。通过观察一层如何偏离其所需形状，可以修改基线电子喷射控制以提高下一层的准确性。在该项目中，原子力显微镜将与电子喷射打印机集成，以测量每层的形状。为了更好地纠正印刷过程，还将测量每层周围的电场。该技术研究计划与教育推广相结合，启动本科生“微型创客”俱乐部，并促进基于廉价喷墨打印定制微电路和传感器的开源自下而上运动。微型增材制造，以及特别是电流体动力喷射打印，有可能彻底改变 3D、功能性、微型器件的制造。限制制造能力的这一阶跃变化是微型增材制造系统对过程监控、调节和质量控制范式的依赖，这些范式是在后处理过程中以临时方式执行的。这项研究将通过在两个领域产生基础科学知识来打破这种开环范式：1）综合控制理论框架，通过稳健且计算高效的基于学习的算法来补偿空间扰动；2）研究之间的相互作用使用第一原理物理模型在电流体动力喷射打印中材料和基材的带电射流，并通过利用电流体动力喷射打印和原子力显微镜的新颖集成的实证研究进行验证。这项研究将贡献将 3D 微型增材制造从新兴的、开环和临时技术集转变为完全自动化、准确和强大的闭环系统所需的基础知识。