Engineering Commons^™

Free And Open-Source Control Software For 3-D Motion And Processing, Bas Wijnen, G. C. Anzalone, Amberlee S. Haselhuhn, Paul G. Sanders, Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

RepRap 3-D printers and their derivatives using conventional firmware are limited by: 1) requiring technical knowledge, 2) poor resilience with unreliable hardware, and 3) poor integration in complicated systems. In this paper, a new control system called Franklin, for CNC machines in general and 3-D printers specifically, is presented that enables web-based three dimensional control of additive, subtractive and analytical tools from any Internet connected device. Franklin can be set up and controlled entirely from a web interface; it uses a custom protocol which allows it to continue printing when the connection is temporarily lost, and allows communication with scripts.

Integrated Voltage—Current Monitoring And Control Of Gas Metal Arc Weld Magnetic Ball-Jointed Open Source 3-D Printer, Yuenyong Nilsiam, Amberlee S. Haselhuhn, Bas Wijnen, Paul G. Sanders, Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

To provide process optimization of metal fabricating self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3-D printers requires a low-cost sensor and data logger system to measure current (I) and voltage (V) of the gas metal arc welders (GMAW). This paper builds on previous open-source hardware development to provide a real-time measurement of welder I-V where the measuring circuit is connected to two analog inputs of the Arduino that is used to control the 3-D printer itself. Franklin firmware accessed through a web interface that is used to control the printer allows storing the measured values and downloading those stored readings to the user’s …

Low-Cost Open-Source Voltage And Current Monitor For Gas Metal Arc Weld 3d Printing, Anthony Pinar, Bas Wijnen, Gerald C. Anzalone, Timothy C. Havens, Paul G. Sanders, Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

Arduino open-source microcontrollers are well known in sensor applications for scientific equipment and for controlling RepRap 3D printers. Recently low-cost open-source gas metal arc weld (GMAW) RepRap 3D printers have been developed. The entry-level welders used have minimal controls and therefore lack any real-time measurement of welder voltage or current. The preliminary work on process optimization of GMAW 3D printers requires a low-cost sensor and data logger system to measure welder current and voltage. This paper reports on the development of a low-cost open-source power measurement sensor system based on Arduino architecture. The sensor system was designed, built, and tested …

Emergence Of Home Manufacturing In The Developed World: Return On Investment For Open-Source 3-D Printers., Emily E. Petersen, Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

Through reduced 3-D printer cost, increased usability, and greater material selection, additive manufacturing has transitioned from business manufacturing to the average prosumer. This study serves as a representative model for the potential future of 3-D printing in the average American household by employing a printer operator who was relatively unfamiliar with 3-D printing and the 3-D design files of common items normally purchased by the average consumer. Twenty-six items were printed in thermoplastic and a cost analysis was performed through comparison to comparable, commercially available products at a low and high price range. When compared to the low-cost items, investment …

Engineered Nanocomposite Materials For Microwave/Millimeter-Wave Applications Of Fused Deposition Modeling, Juan De Dios Castro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of high-permittivity (high-k) and low-loss ceramic-thermoplastic composite materials as fused deposition modeling (FDM) feedstock, based on cyclo-olefin polymer (COP) embedded with sintered ceramic fillers, have been developed and investigated for direct digital manufacturing (DDM) of microwave components. The composites presented in this dissertation use a high-temperature sintering process up to 1500°C to further enhance the dielectric properties of the ceramic fillers. The electromagnetic (EM) properties of these newly developed FDM composites were characterized up to the Ku-band by using the cavity perturbation technique. Several models for prediction of the effective relative dielectric permittivity of composites based …

Emergence Of Home Manufacturing In The Developed World: Return On Investment For Open-Source 3-D Printers., Emily E. Petersen, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Through reduced 3-D printer cost, increased usability, and greater material selection, additive manufacturing has transitioned from business manufacturing to the average prosumer. This study serves as a representative model for the potential future of 3-D printing in the average American household by employing a printer operator who was relatively unfamiliar with 3-D printing and the 3-D design files of common items normally purchased by the average consumer. Twenty-six items were printed in thermoplastic and a cost analysis was performed through comparison to comparable, commercially available products at a low and high price range. When compared to the low-cost items, investment …

Utilizing Reprap Style 3d Printers For The Manufacturing Of Composite Heat Exchangers, John Laureto

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The low cost 3D printing market is currently dominated by the application of RepRap (self-replicating rapid-prototyper) variants. Presented in this document are practical utilizations of RepRap technology. Developed are innovative processes to manufacture composite materials systems for thermal management solutions.

First, a laser polymer welder system is validated by quantifying maximum peak load and weld width of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) lap welds as a function of linear energy density. The development of practical engineering data, in this application, is critical to producing mechanically durable welds. Developed laser and printer parameter sets allow for manufacturing of LLDPE multi-layered heat …