I-Corps: Axial Lattice Extrusion Technology

I-Corps：轴向晶格挤压技术

• 批准号: 2017223
• 负责人: Denis Cormier
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Rochester Institute of Tech
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-01 至 2022-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2017223&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Axial; Lattice; Extrusion; Technology

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a carbon-fiber composite 3D printing process that produces high-strength, lightweight components. While 3D printing with plastics has existed mostly as a prototyping tool thus far, its use can be expanded to enable on-demand manufacturing and custom industrial lightweight structures. The proposed technology will address limitations of current polymer 3D printing processes (extremely slow speed, poor mechanical properties, high material costs) to improve manufacturing economics; it can be used for industrial-grade machines and hobbyists alike. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an axial lattice extrusion (ALE) 3D printing technology. Conventional 3D printing processes make parts by repeatedly printing one planar layer of material on top of another. For production of high-strength, lightweight engineered cellular structures, the conventional 3D printing approach is extremely inefficient (slow) and produces very weak structures. In contrast, the ALE process allows fabrication of high-strength, lightweight-engineered lattice structures using non-planar 3D toolpaths. This is made possible using a combination of computational geometry, digital process controls with selective material cooling, and advanced materials. This enables parts to be made in a fraction of the time needed with conventional 3D printing while using up to 50% less material. This lowers costs while maintaining strength for end-use applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

I-Corps 项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发碳纤维复合材料 3D 打印工艺，可生产高强度、轻质部件。虽然迄今为止塑料 3D 打印主要作为原型设计工具存在，但其用途可以扩展以实现按需制造和定制工业轻质结构。所提出的技术将解决当前聚合物3D打印工艺的局限性（速度极慢、机械性能差、材料成本高），以提高制造经济性；它可用于工业级机器和爱好者。该 I-Corps 项目基于轴向晶格挤出 (ALE) 3D 打印技术的开发。传统的 3D 打印工艺通过在另一平面材料层上重复打印一层平面材料来制造零件。对于生产高强度、轻质的工程蜂窝结构，传统的 3D 打印方法效率极低（缓慢），并且生成的结构非常脆弱。相比之下，ALE 工艺允许使用非平面 3D 刀具路径制造高强度、轻质工程晶格结构。这是通过计算几何、具有选择性材料冷却的数字过程控制和先进材料的组合来实现的。这使得零件的制造时间仅为传统 3D 打印所需时间的一小部分，同时使用的材料最多可减少 50%。这降低了成本，同时保持了最终用途应用的实力。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。