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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Finding Ideal Parameters For Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3d Printing Using An Open Source Software Implementation Of Particle Swarm Optimization, Shane Oberloier, Nicholas G. Whisman, Joshua M. Pearce
Finding Ideal Parameters For Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3d Printing Using An Open Source Software Implementation Of Particle Swarm Optimization, Shane Oberloier, Nicholas G. Whisman, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2
As additive manufacturing rapidly expands the number of materials including waste plastics and composites, there is an urgent need to reduce the experimental time needed to identify optimized printing parameters for novel materials. Computational intelligence (CI) in general and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms in particular have been shown to accelerate finding optimal printing parameters. Unfortunately, the implementation of CI has been prohibitively complex for noncomputer scientists. To overcome these limitations, this article develops, tests, and validates PSO Experimenter, an easy-to-use open-source platform based around the PSO algorithm and applies it to optimizing recycled materials. Specifically, PSO Experimenter is used …
Finding Ideal Parameters For Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3d Printing Using An Open Source Software Implementation Of Particle Swarm Optimization, Shane Oberloier, Nicholas G. Whisman, Joshua M. Pearce
Finding Ideal Parameters For Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3d Printing Using An Open Source Software Implementation Of Particle Swarm Optimization, Shane Oberloier, Nicholas G. Whisman, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2
As additive manufacturing rapidly expands the number of materials including waste plastics and composites, there is an urgent need to reduce the experimental time needed to identify optimized printing parameters for novel materials. Computational intelligence (CI) in general and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms in particular have been shown to accelerate finding optimal printing parameters. Unfortunately, the implementation of CI has been prohibitively complex for noncomputer scientists. To overcome these limitations, this article develops, tests, and validates PSO Experimenter, an easy-to-use open-source platform based around the PSO algorithm and applies it to optimizing recycled materials. Specifically, PSO Experimenter is used …
Utilization Of Mechanically Recycled Carbon Fibers In Vinyl Ester Composites, Khaled Alharmoodi, Amir Hussain Idrisi, Abdel Hamid Ismail Mourad, Basim Abu-Jdayil
Utilization Of Mechanically Recycled Carbon Fibers In Vinyl Ester Composites, Khaled Alharmoodi, Amir Hussain Idrisi, Abdel Hamid Ismail Mourad, Basim Abu-Jdayil
Michigan Tech Publications
As we enter the twenty-first century, the aviation sector is expected to thrive as flying becomes the primary mode of transportation between states or nations. With such a demand, there is a corresponding need to manufacture aircraft components. The study focused on recycling carbon fiber composites received from the STRATA company, which were cut-off/waste material generated during the manufacture of airplane components. The cut-offs were then reduced to powder form using a standard face milling machine in three sizes (90, 150, and 250 µm). After, the powder was utilized to fabricate vinyl ester composites with four weight percentages (10%, 20%, …
Waste Plastic Direct Extrusion Hangprinter, Aliaksei Petsiuk, Bharath Lavu, Rachel Dick, Joshua M. Pearce
Waste Plastic Direct Extrusion Hangprinter, Aliaksei Petsiuk, Bharath Lavu, Rachel Dick, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
As the additive manufacturing industry grows, it is compounding the global plastic waste problem. Distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) offers an economic solution to this challenge, but it has been relegated to either small-volume 3D printers (limiting waste recycling throughput) or expensive industrial machines (limiting accessibility and lateral scaling). To overcome these challenges, this paper provides proof-of-concept for a novel, open-source hybrid 3D printer that combines a low-cost hanging printer design with a compression-screw-based end-effector that allows for the direct extrusion of recycled plastic waste in large expandable printing volumes. Mechanical testing of the resultant prints from 100% waste …
Soil-Cement Bricks Produced From Local Clay Brick Waste And Soft Sludge From Fiber Cement Production, Nuntaporn Kongkajun, Edward A. Laitila, Pitcharat Ineure, Wichit Prakaypan, Benya Cherdhirunkorn, Parinya Chakartnarodom
Soil-Cement Bricks Produced From Local Clay Brick Waste And Soft Sludge From Fiber Cement Production, Nuntaporn Kongkajun, Edward A. Laitila, Pitcharat Ineure, Wichit Prakaypan, Benya Cherdhirunkorn, Parinya Chakartnarodom
Michigan Tech Publications
Soil-cement bricks were produced using local clay brick waste (CBW) and soft sludge (SS) from fiber-cement industries, preserving raw resources by substituting with industrial wastes. The control formula to produce soil-cement bricks, is 15 wt% Portland cement, 15 wt% sand, and 70 wt% laterite. Clay brick waste was added with values from 10 to 50 % of laterite weight in the control formula. For SS, 5 and 10 % was used to replace the total weight of the dry mixture in the control formula. The samples were shaped by using a manual brick making machine. The results showed that the …
Mechanical Properties Of Direct Waste Printing Of Polylactic Acid With Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison To Fused Filament Fabrication On Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers, Arthur Alexandre, Fabio A. Cruz Sanchez, Hakim Boudaoud, Mauricio Camargo, Joshua M. Pearce
Mechanical Properties Of Direct Waste Printing Of Polylactic Acid With Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison To Fused Filament Fabrication On Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers, Arthur Alexandre, Fabio A. Cruz Sanchez, Hakim Boudaoud, Mauricio Camargo, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the most common and widespread additive manufacturing (AM) technique, but it requires the formation of filament. Fused granular fabrication (FGF), where plastic granules are directly three-dimensional (3D) printed, has become a promising technique for the AM technology. FGF could be a key driver to promote further greening of distributed recycling thanks to the reduced melt solidification steps and elimination of the filament extruder system. However, only large-scale FGF systems have been tested for technical and economic viability of recycling plastic materials. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of the FFF and …
Towards Distributed Recycling With Additive Manufacturing Of Pet Flake Feedstocks, Helen A. Little, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Matthew J. Reich, Matthew J. Fiedler, Samantha L. Snabes, Joshua M. Pearce
Towards Distributed Recycling With Additive Manufacturing Of Pet Flake Feedstocks, Helen A. Little, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Matthew J. Reich, Matthew J. Fiedler, Samantha L. Snabes, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
This study explores the potential to reach a circular economy for post-consumer Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) packaging and bottles by using it as a Distributed Recycling for Additive Manufacturing (DRAM) feedstock. Specifically, for the first time, rPET water bottle flake is processed using only an open source toolchain with Fused Particle Fabrication (FPF) or Fused Granular Fabrication (FGF) processing rather than first converting it to filament. In this study, first the impact of granulation, sifting, and heating (and their sequential combination) is quantified on the shape and size distribution of the rPET flakes. Then 3D printing tests were performed on …
Open-Source Grinding Machine For Compression Screw Manufacturing, Jacob Franz, Joshua M. Pearce
Open-Source Grinding Machine For Compression Screw Manufacturing, Jacob Franz, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Some of the most promising distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) technical systems use fused particle fabrication (FPF) or fused granular fabrication (FGF), where compression screws force post-consumer waste plastic through a heated nozzle for direct 3D printing. To assist the technical evolution of these systems, this study provided the details of an invention for a low-cost, easily replicable open-source grinding machine for compression screw manufacturing. The system itself can be largely fabricated using FPF/FGF following the self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) methodology. This grinding machine can be made from a cordless cut-off grinder and < $155 in parts. The new invention is demonstrated to be able to cut custom screws with variable (i) channel depths, (ii) screw diameters, (iii) screw lengths, (iv) pitches, (v) abrasive disk thicknesses, (vi) handedness of the screws, (vii) and materials (three types of steel tested: 1045 steel, 1144 steel, and 416 stainless steel). The results show that the device is more than capable of replicating commercial screws as well as providing makers with a much greater flexibility to make custom screws. This invention enables the DRAM toolchain to become even more self-sufficient, which assists the goals of the circular economy.
Open Source Waste Plastic Granulator, Arvind Ravindran, Sean Scsavnicki, Walker Nelson, Peter Gorecki, Jacob Franz, Shane Oberloier, Theresa K. Meyer, Andrew Barnard, Joshua M. Pearce
Open Source Waste Plastic Granulator, Arvind Ravindran, Sean Scsavnicki, Walker Nelson, Peter Gorecki, Jacob Franz, Shane Oberloier, Theresa K. Meyer, Andrew Barnard, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
In order to accelerate deployment of distributed recycling by providing low-cost feed stocks of granulated post-consumer waste plastic, this study analyzes an open source waste plastic granulator system. It is designed, built, and tested for its ability to convert post-consumer waste, 3D printed products and waste into polymer feedstock for recyclebots of fused particle/granule printers. The technical specifications of the device are quantified in terms of power consumption (380 to 404 W for PET and PLA, respectively) and particle size distribution. The open source device can be fabricated for less than $2000 USD in materials. The experimentally measured power use …
Mechanical Properties And Applications Of Recycled Polycarbonate Particle Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing, Matthew J. Reich, Aubrey Woern, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Joshua M. Pearce
Mechanical Properties And Applications Of Recycled Polycarbonate Particle Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing, Matthew J. Reich, Aubrey Woern, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Past work has shown that particle material extrusion (fused particle fabrication (FPF)/fused granular fabrication (FGF)) has the potential for increasing the use of recycled polymers in 3D printing. This study extends this potential to high-performance (high-mechanical-strength and heat-resistant) polymers using polycarbonate (PC). Recycled PC regrind of approximately 25 mm2 was 3D printed with an open-source Gigabot X and analyzed. A temperature and nozzle velocity matrix was used to find useful printing parameters, and a print test was used to maximize the output for a two-temperature stage extruder for PC. ASTM type 4 tensile test geometries as well as ASTM-approved …
3-D Printable Polymer Pelletizer Chopper For Fused Granular Fabrication-Based Additive Manufacturing, Aubrey Woern, Joshua M. Pearce
3-D Printable Polymer Pelletizer Chopper For Fused Granular Fabrication-Based Additive Manufacturing, Aubrey Woern, Joshua M. Pearce
Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications
Although distributed additive manufacturing can provide high returns on investment, the current markup on commercial filament over base polymers limits deployment. These cost barriers can be surmounted by eliminating the entire process of fusing filament by three-dimensional (3-D) printing products directly from polymer granules. Fused granular fabrication (FGF) (or fused particle fabrication (FPF)) is being held back in part by the accessibility of low-cost pelletizers and choppers. An open-source 3-D printable invention disclosed here allows for precisely controlled pelletizing of both single thermopolymers as well as composites for 3-D printing. The system is designed, built, and tested for its ability …
Reprapable Recyclebot: Open Source 3-D Printable Extruder For Converting Plastic To 3-D Printing Filament, Aubrey Woern, Joseph Mccaslin, Adam Pringle, Joshua M. Pearce
Reprapable Recyclebot: Open Source 3-D Printable Extruder For Converting Plastic To 3-D Printing Filament, Aubrey Woern, Joseph Mccaslin, Adam Pringle, Joshua M. Pearce
Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications
In order to assist researchers explore the full potential of distributed recycling of post-consumer polymer waste, this article describes a recyclebot, which is a waste plastic extruder capable of making commercial quality 3-D printing filament. The device design takes advantage of both the open source hardware methodology and the paradigm developed by the open source self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3-D printer community. Specifically, this paper describes the design, fabrication and operation of a RepRapable Recyclebot, which refers to the Recyclebot’s ability to provide the filament needed to largely replicate the parts for the Recyclebot on any type of RepRap 3-D …
Energy Payback Time Of A Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System, Shan Zhong, Pratiksha Rakhe, Joshua M. Pearce
Energy Payback Time Of A Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System, Shan Zhong, Pratiksha Rakhe, Joshua M. Pearce
Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications
The growth of both plastic consumption and prosumer 3-D printing are driving an interest in producing 3-D printer filaments from waste plastic. This study quantifies the embodied energy of a vertical DC solar photovoltaic (PV) powered recyclebot based on life cycle energy analysis and compares it to horizontal AC recyclebots, conventional recycling, and the production of a virgin 3-D printer filament. The energy payback time (EPBT) is calculated using the embodied energy of the materials making up the recyclebot itself and is found to be about five days for the extrusion of a poly lactic acid (PLA) filament or 2.5 …
Tightening The Loop On The Circular Economy: Distributed Plastic Recycling With An Open Source Recyclebot, Shan Zhong
Tightening The Loop On The Circular Economy: Distributed Plastic Recycling With An Open Source Recyclebot, Shan Zhong
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Following the goals of a circular economy, the growth of both plastic consumption and prosumer 3-D printing are driving an interest in producing 3-D printer filament from waste plastic. However, traditional recycling can have a significant environmental impact as it demands the collection and transportation of relatively low-density waste plastics to collection centers and reclamation facilities for separation and reconstruction. Compared to the traditional recycling, distributed recycling (where consumers directly recycle their own waste) has the potential to reduce energy consumption because it can save the energy for transportation needed in conventional recycling. A promising method of such distributed plastic …