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Additive manufacturing

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Articles 391 - 420 of 577

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Investigation Of Ultem 9085 For Use In Printed Orbital Structures, William R. Gallagher Mar 2020

Investigation Of Ultem 9085 For Use In Printed Orbital Structures, William R. Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing industries ranging from medicine to space. However, the structural characteristics of plastic parts created by these methods are not as well understood as their more established counterparts. This research explored two relevant areas: how the structural characteristics of ULTEM 9085 plastic behaved after exposure to orbital conditions and the design of the cross-sectional area of a beam to be 3-D printed in microgravity based on the expected loads from the printer. To study orbital effects, ULTEM 9085 was printed into 1/4th scale ASTM D638- 14 dogbones using a Stratasys 450mc printer. These dogbones were placed in …


Design, Development, And Testing Of A Low Cost, Additively-Manufactured, Centrifugal Compressor, Aaron P. Bauer Mar 2020

Design, Development, And Testing Of A Low Cost, Additively-Manufactured, Centrifugal Compressor, Aaron P. Bauer

Theses and Dissertations

The three objectives of this research were to: 1.) design, build, and test AM compressors to substitute into COTS micro-gas turbine engines, 2.) provide initial correlations between FEA and compressor failure speed, and 3.) characterize the effects of AM on compressor performance. These goals improved the design cycle cost and the design-validation time cycle. ULTEM 9085, 300-AMB, and Onyx-Kevlar temperature-dependent tensile properties were measured. FEA-predicted failure speeds of stock compressor designs led design improvements, potentially fulfilling the original compressor requirements. Physical testing of the stock and ULTEM 9085 compressors occurred. Comparing these compressors' performances demonstrated that low cost, AM materials …


An Analysis Of The Viability Of 3d-Printed Construction As An Alternative To Conventional Construction Methods In The Expeditionary Environment, Jeneé A. Jagoda Mar 2020

An Analysis Of The Viability Of 3d-Printed Construction As An Alternative To Conventional Construction Methods In The Expeditionary Environment, Jeneé A. Jagoda

Theses and Dissertations

Conventional construction is believed by some to have reached its technological limit of performance, making it increasingly difficult for conventional construction methods to meet the U.S. military’s core standards of quality, cost, and timeliness in the expeditionary environment. While still in its infancy, 3D-printed construction has the potential to revolutionize the way the military performs construction in deployed environments. This research conducts a systematic review of the viability of 3D-printed construction to investigate whether or not it is now or could be a viable replacement for conventional construction methods, specifically in remote environments where conventional construction capability may be limited. …


Solution Anneal Heat Treatments To Enhance Mechanical Performance Of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718, David J. Newell Mar 2020

Solution Anneal Heat Treatments To Enhance Mechanical Performance Of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718, David J. Newell

Theses and Dissertations

The nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718 (IN718) is an excellent candidate among aerospace alloys for laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) manufacturing. As-built LPBF IN718 has a vertically aligned columnar (001) microstructure which translates into orthotropic mechanical behavior. The post-process heat treatments for IN718 were developed 60 years ago for wrought and cast processes and do not mitigate the columnar microstructure of the LPBF process. Recrystallization is required to remove the columnar microstructure, which would allow for parts to be fabricated on different machines or in different orientations but still achieve the same properties. This research investigated the microstructure of LPBF IN718 as …


Analysis Of Additively Manufactured Rings Under Compression Loading For Use In A Vacuum Lighter Than Air Vehicle Structure, Kevin D. Greenoe Mar 2020

Analysis Of Additively Manufactured Rings Under Compression Loading For Use In A Vacuum Lighter Than Air Vehicle Structure, Kevin D. Greenoe

Theses and Dissertations

A Vacuum Lighter Than Air Vehicle (VLTAV) utilizes a lightweight structure paired with an internal vacuum to achieve buoyancy; this allows it to float through-out a given atmosphere. The pressure differential between the internal vacuum andexternal atmosphere places the vehicle under intense loading. A specific structure under investigation is the celestial icosahedron, which features nine intersecting rings that have an outer diameter of 0.2032m and circular cross-sectionalthickness of 5.08mm.The celestials rings are positioned in three different orientations and are analyzed both experimentally and analytically.


Structural Dynamic And Inherent Damping Characterization Of Additively Manufactured Airfoil Components, Andrew W. Goldin Mar 2020

Structural Dynamic And Inherent Damping Characterization Of Additively Manufactured Airfoil Components, Andrew W. Goldin

Theses and Dissertations

The push for low cost and higher performance/efficient turbine engines have introduced a new demand for novel technologies to improve robustness to vibrations resulting in High Cycle Fatigue (HCF). There have been many proposed solutions to this, some passive and some active. With the advent of Additive Manufacturing (AM), new damping techniques can now be incorporated directly into the design and manufacture process to suppress the vibrations that create HCF. In this study, this novel unfused pocket damping technology is applied to a blade structure and the resulting damping effectiveness is quantified. The application of this technology to complex geometries …


Aluminum Parts Fabricated By Laser-Foil-Printing Additive Manufacturing: Processing, Microstructure, And Mechanical Properties, Chia Hung Hung, Yingqi Li, Austin Sutton, Wei Ting Chen, Xiangtao Gong, Heng Pan, Hai Lung Tsai, Ming-Chuan Leu Jan 2020

Aluminum Parts Fabricated By Laser-Foil-Printing Additive Manufacturing: Processing, Microstructure, And Mechanical Properties, Chia Hung Hung, Yingqi Li, Austin Sutton, Wei Ting Chen, Xiangtao Gong, Heng Pan, Hai Lung Tsai, Ming-Chuan Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fabrication of dense aluminum (Al-1100) parts (>99.3% of relative density) by our recently developed laser-foil-printing (LFP) additive manufacturing method was investigated as described in this paper. This was achieved by using a laser energy density of 7.0 MW/cm2 to stabilize the melt pool formation and create sufficient penetration depth with 300 μm thickness foil. The highest yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) in the LFP-fabricated samples reached 111 ± 8 MPa and 128 ± 3 MPa, respectively, along the laser scanning direction. These samples exhibited greater tensile strength but less ductility compared to annealed Al-1100 samples. Fractographic …


Thermal Modeling Of Coordinated Multi-Beam Additive Manufacturing, Rachel Elizabeth Evans Jan 2020

Thermal Modeling Of Coordinated Multi-Beam Additive Manufacturing, Rachel Elizabeth Evans

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In additive manufacturing (AM), it is necessary to know the influence of processing parameters in order to have better control over the microstructure and mechanical performance of the part. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a metal AM process in which thin layers of powdered material are selectively melted to create a three-dimensional structure. This manufacturing process is beneficial for many reasons; however, it is limited by the thermal solidification conditions achievable in the available processing parameter ranges for single-beam processing methods. Therefore, this work investigates the effect of multiple, coordinated heat sources, which are used to strategically modify the …


In-Situ X-Ray Imaging Of The Selective Laser Melting Process, Meelap M. Coday Jan 2020

In-Situ X-Ray Imaging Of The Selective Laser Melting Process, Meelap M. Coday

Masters Theses

"Fusion-based metal additive manufacturing (AM) has garnered much interest in recent decades. Despite the popularity of fusion-based AM technologies such as selective laser melting (SLM), there are still fundamental questions and uncertainties that need to be addressed. In this work, we focus on the understanding of the undercooling in the SLM process and the uncertainties induced by the laser beam size, power, and scan speed. First, we report the estimation of undercooling in the SLM process from the solidification rate measured by in-situ high-speed synchrotron x-ray imaging, based on the dendrite growth velocity model. The undercooling changes as a function …


Additive Manufacturing Of Linear Shaped Charges To Address Run Up And Run Down Phenomena, Jason Ho Jan 2020

Additive Manufacturing Of Linear Shaped Charges To Address Run Up And Run Down Phenomena, Jason Ho

Masters Theses

”A shaped charge is an explosive device used to focus detonation energy in a desired direction. Additive Manufacturing (AM) can allow greater design freedom and geometric complexity for the liner portion of the shaped charge.

In this work, the following hypotheses were tested: 1) Adjusting the initial apex angle of a linear shaped charge liner reduces the amount of run up that occurs, and 2) implementing a backstop at the end of a linear shaped charge liner reduces the amount of run down that occurs.

Linear shaped charge liners with a continuously changing apex angle were created with additive manufacturing. …


Combining Laser Aided Ablation And Polishing To Minimize Surface Roughness Of Additively Manufactured Aluminium Components, Sahil Bipinkumar Patel Jan 2020

Combining Laser Aided Ablation And Polishing To Minimize Surface Roughness Of Additively Manufactured Aluminium Components, Sahil Bipinkumar Patel

Masters Theses

“The surface roughness of additively manufactured parts is much higher than the acceptable range for most applications, thus post-processing is needed to qualify these parts for use. Laser polishing can be used to bring the surface roughness in an admissible range, but if the initial roughness is very high then the energy density for the polishing process needs to be very high to achieve a significant reduction in roughness. This high energy density can produce many process defects. Also, laser polishing alone cannot get rid of high wavelength asperities. Any waviness in the part can be linked with initial waviness …


Synthesis And Advanced Manufacturing Of Polymer Structures And Their Composites, Bethany Rose Wilburn Jan 2020

Synthesis And Advanced Manufacturing Of Polymer Structures And Their Composites, Bethany Rose Wilburn

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following research work performed embodies three unique studies of polymer structures and their composites. In general, polymers are viscoelastic, insulative materials that are used for a wide variety of applications within industrial, aerospace, and biomedical fields. Polymers have been studied and optimized for any particular use by chemically synthesizing unique micro-structures, altering the physical properties through fabrication and post-processing, and utilizing 3D printing to achieve complex geometries. In the past decade, additive manufacturing (AM) has drawn extensive attention across academia, industry, and government agencies. It offers unprecedented advantages such as design freedom, rapid prototyping, and customization. In this work, …


Defect Modeling And Vibration-Based Bending Fatigue Of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718, Wesley Earl Eldt Jan 2020

Defect Modeling And Vibration-Based Bending Fatigue Of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718, Wesley Earl Eldt

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) is convenient for building components with complex features. However, the long-term integrity of these components is uncertain, since AM parts have defects such as pores and rough surfaces. In this work, an analytical model was developed to determine the impact of defects, and a novel bending fatigue test was used to determine the fatigue life of channeled specimens. The analytical model, based off the theory of critical distances, investigates coupled pores and predicts their potential for fatigue failure. This resulted in a maximum allowable pore size and spacing recommendation for coupled defects. Additionally, specimens with through channels …


Additive Manufacturing Techniques To Enhance The Performance Of Electronics Created On Flexible And Rigid Substrates, Aamir Hamed Hamad Jan 2020

Additive Manufacturing Techniques To Enhance The Performance Of Electronics Created On Flexible And Rigid Substrates, Aamir Hamed Hamad

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Different additive manufacturing (AM) methods including fused deposition modeling (FDM) and piezoelectrical drop on demand (DOD) inkjet printing have been used in printed electronics for easy production, easy integration, better performance, and low cost. These methods have been used in producing everyday smart printed electronics such as conformal antennas (planner and non-planar antennas), sensors, actuators, and solar cells created on flexible and rigid substrates. The performance of printed electronics strongly depends on printing techniques and printing resolution that enhance their electrical and mechanical properties. In this dissertation, 3D and surface printing techniques were used to enhance the performance of printed …


Additive Manufacturing Of Magnesium Alloys, Rakeshkumar Karunakaran, Sam Ortgies, Ali Tamayol, Florin Bobaru, Michael P. Sealy Jan 2020

Additive Manufacturing Of Magnesium Alloys, Rakeshkumar Karunakaran, Sam Ortgies, Ali Tamayol, Florin Bobaru, Michael P. Sealy

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Magnesium alloys are a promising new class of degradable biomaterials that have a similar stiffness to bone, which minimizes the harmful effects of stress shielding. Use of biodegradable magnesium implants eliminates the need for a second surgery for repair or removal. There is a growing interest to capitalize on additive manufacturing's unique design capabilities to advance the frontiers of medicine. However, magnesium alloys are difficult to 3D print due to the high chemical reactivity that poses a combustion risk. Furthermore, the low vaporization temperature of magnesium and common biocompatible alloying elements further increases the difficulty to print fully dense structures …


Influence Of Droplet Velocity, Spacing, And Inter-Arrival Time On Line Formation And Saturation In Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing, Trenton Colton, Nathan B. Crane Jan 2020

Influence Of Droplet Velocity, Spacing, And Inter-Arrival Time On Line Formation And Saturation In Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing, Trenton Colton, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Binder Jetting (BJ) is a low-cost Additive Manufacturing (AM) process that uses inkjet technology to selectively bind particles in a powder bed. BJ relies on the ability to control, not only the placement of binder on the surface but also its imbibition into the powder bed. This is a complex process in which picoliter-sized droplets impact powder beds at velocities of 1-10 m/s. However, the effects of printing parameters such as droplet velocity, size, spacing, and inter-arrival time on saturation level (fraction of pore space filled with binder) and line formation (merging of droplets to form a line) are unknown. …


Fabrication And Characterization Of Multifunctional Composites, Aditya R. Thakur Jan 2020

Fabrication And Characterization Of Multifunctional Composites, Aditya R. Thakur

Doctoral Dissertations

“This study details the research to facilitate fabrication and characterization of novel structural composites reinforced with carbon fibers. Across industries, materials with high performance-to-weight ratio are sought after. Using carbon fibers as secondary phases in these proposed composites, specific characteristics can be tailored in these materials to manufacture strong, lightweight, high performance structures. The first part of the research focused on the improvement in the mechanical properties of the composites using carbon fiber reinforcement. As a part of this study, toughened ceramic composites with predictable failure patterns were produced using carbon fiber inclusions. A closed-form analytical model was developed to …


On Geometric Design Rules And In-Process Build Quality Monitoring Of Thin-Wall Features Made Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process, Aniruddha Gaikwad Jan 2020

On Geometric Design Rules And In-Process Build Quality Monitoring Of Thin-Wall Features Made Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process, Aniruddha Gaikwad

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of this thesis is to quantify the link between the design features (geometry), in-process signatures, and build quality of parts made using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing (AM) process. This knowledge is the foundational basis for proposing design rules in AM, as well as for detecting the impending build failures using in-process sensor data.

As a step towards this goal, the objectives of this work are two-fold:

1) Quantify the effect of the geometry and orientation on the build quality of thin-wall features. To explain further, the geometry related factor is the ratio of the …


Effect Of Surface Roughness On Ultrasonic Inspection Of Electron Beam Melting Ti‐6al‐4v, Evan T. Hanks, Anthony N. Palazotto, David Liu Dec 2019

Effect Of Surface Roughness On Ultrasonic Inspection Of Electron Beam Melting Ti‐6al‐4v, Evan T. Hanks, Anthony N. Palazotto, David Liu

Faculty Publications

Experimental research was conducted on the effects of surface roughness on ultrasonic non-destructive testing of electron beam melted (EBM) additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a developing technology with many potential benefits, but certain challenges posed by its use require further research before AM parts are viable for widespread use in the aviation industry. Possible applications of this new technology include aircraft battle damage repair (ABDR), small batch manufacturing to fill supply gaps and replacement for obsolete parts. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of ultrasonic inspection in detecting manufactured flaws in EBM-manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. Additively manufactured EBM products …


Material Characterization And Fracture Prediction Of Fdm Printed Parts, Sanchita Sheth Dec 2019

Material Characterization And Fracture Prediction Of Fdm Printed Parts, Sanchita Sheth

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

In order to take advantage of the design freedom that Additive Manufacturing offers, most applications require reliable material characterization. This can ensure that a design performs within its environment and life requirements. This work discusses two models. One investigates the raster angle dependency of stiffness properties and the other numerically predicts fracture in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printed polymer parts. Pre-processing of FDM geometry was done in Abaqus CAE (SIMULIA TM). FEA and post-processing was done in BSAM, which is a damage prediction software developed for composites. BSAM uses a regularized extended finite element approach of Discrete Damage Modeling. In …


The Effects Of Stress Relieving Heat Treatment On The Microstructure And Residual Stress Of Inconel 718 Fabricated By Laser Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process, Xiaoqing Wang, Kevin Chou Dec 2019

The Effects Of Stress Relieving Heat Treatment On The Microstructure And Residual Stress Of Inconel 718 Fabricated By Laser Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process, Xiaoqing Wang, Kevin Chou

Research, Publications & Creative Work

In this study, the microstructure and residual stress of the Inconel 718 parts, which were fabricated by laser metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process, in as-fabricated and stress-relieved conditions were investigated by metallographic analysis and microhardness test. Fine equiaxed and columnar cellular dendrites were revealed in the Transverse plane, Frontal plane, and Sagittal plane, respectively. Laves phases were found in the interdendritic regions and interlayers. After the stress relief heat treatment, the Laves phases has partly solved into the γ matrix and the microstructure became relatively homogeneous, which leads to the significant increase (~19%) in the microhardness. Residual stress …


Analysis Of A Celestial Icosahedron Shaped Vacuum Lighter Than Air Vehicle, Dustin P. Graves, Kyle D. Moore, Anthony N. Palazotto Dec 2019

Analysis Of A Celestial Icosahedron Shaped Vacuum Lighter Than Air Vehicle, Dustin P. Graves, Kyle D. Moore, Anthony N. Palazotto

Faculty Publications

Excerpt: The celestial icosahedron geometry is considered as a potential design for a vacuum lighter than air vehicle. The goal of this research is ultimately to determine the feasibility of the design and to understand the initial fluid-structure interaction of the vacuum lighter than air vehicle and the surrounding airflow.


Additively Manufactured Continuous Carbon Fiber Thermoplastic Composites For High-Performance Applications, Nekoda Van De Werken Nov 2019

Additively Manufactured Continuous Carbon Fiber Thermoplastic Composites For High-Performance Applications, Nekoda Van De Werken

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

The goal of this dissertation is to provide a foundation for the advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) toward production of high-performance carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites (CFRPs). AM can provide valuable advantages over conventional composite manufacturing techniques, including the control over fiber orientation, capability of manufacturing complex geometries, out-of-autoclave processing, elimination of the need for composite tooling, and the ability to perform lights-out manufacturing. Currently, however, a suite of challenges related to modelling, design, manufacturing defects, and general limitations in the current understanding of the processing-structure-property relationships exist in AM of composites. To this end, this dissertation investigates novel …


Additive Manufacturing Of Monomer-Free Ormocer®-Based Composites For Dental And Audiological Application, Herbert Wolter, Carina Kolb, Somchith Nique Nov 2019

Additive Manufacturing Of Monomer-Free Ormocer®-Based Composites For Dental And Audiological Application, Herbert Wolter, Carina Kolb, Somchith Nique

Composites at Lake Louise 2019

Additive manufacturing has a great potential, especially in the medical area where patient individual parts are required. However, there is still a lack of biocompatible materials which are printable and meet the high requirements of the targeted fields of end-use application (indirect dental restoration and earmolds). For this purpose, new types of inorganic-organic hybridpolymers (ORMOCERÒs) with the indispensable biocompatibility, combined with an adapted profile of properties, have been developed.

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract.


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 Oct 2019

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, Part 1

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 …


Microstuctural Analysis Of Additively Manufactured 308l Stainless Steel Produced By Plasma Arc Welding, Ryan Foley Oct 2019

Microstuctural Analysis Of Additively Manufactured 308l Stainless Steel Produced By Plasma Arc Welding, Ryan Foley

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technique to produce special products by depositing layers of material in a specific pattern. Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is an AM technique that uses welding equipment that has been modified and automated to deposit layers of welding wire. Characterization of specimens produced by WAAM method is required to optimize the process parameters. This research focuses on the microstructure characterization of 308L stainless steel samples produced by a novel WAAM technique known as Plasma Arc Weld Print 3D (PP3D). PP3D consists of multiple plasma arc torches that can deposit material in two modes of …


Smart Additive Manufacturing: In-Process Sensing And Data Analytics For Online Defect Detection In Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes, Mohammad Montazeri Oct 2019

Smart Additive Manufacturing: In-Process Sensing And Data Analytics For Online Defect Detection In Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes, Mohammad Montazeri

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of this dissertation is to detect the incipient flaws in metal parts made using additive manufacturing processes (3D printing). The key idea is to embed sensors inside a 3D printing machine and conclude whether there are defects in the part as it is being built by analyzing the sensor data using artificial intelligence (machine learning). This is an important area of research, because, despite their revolutionary potential, additive manufacturing processes are yet to find wider acceptance in safety-critical industries, such as aerospace and biomedical, given their propensity to form defects. The presence of defects, such as porosity, can …


Adhesion Testing Of Printed Inks While Varying The Surface Treatment Of Polymer Substrates, Clayton Neff, Edwin Elston, Amanda Schrand, Nathan B. Crane Sep 2019

Adhesion Testing Of Printed Inks While Varying The Surface Treatment Of Polymer Substrates, Clayton Neff, Edwin Elston, Amanda Schrand, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing with conductive materials enables new approaches to printed electronics that are unachievable by standard electronics manufacturing processes. In particular, electronics can be embedded directly into structural components in nearly arbitrary 3D space. While these methods incorporate many of the same materials, the new processing methods require standard test methods to compare materials, processing conditions, and determine design limits. This work demonstrates a test method to quantitatively measure the adhesion failure of printed inks deposited on a substrate without changing the ink printing conditions. The proposed method is an adaption of single lap shear testing in which the lap …


Mechanical And Temperature Resilience Of Multi-Material Systems For Printed Electronics Packaging, Clayton Neff, Justin Nussbaum, Chris Gardiner, Nathan B. Crane, James L. Zunino, Mike Newton Sep 2019

Mechanical And Temperature Resilience Of Multi-Material Systems For Printed Electronics Packaging, Clayton Neff, Justin Nussbaum, Chris Gardiner, Nathan B. Crane, James L. Zunino, Mike Newton

Faculty Publications

In this work, two AM technologies were utilized to compare the effectiveness of fabricating a simple electronic device with a conductive trace and hollow cylinder representative of ‘printed packaging’ that would survive harsh environmental conditions. The printed packaging cylinder delineates printed potting for electronics packaging. An nScrypt direct write (DW) system was the primary manufacturing system but a developing technology—coined large area projection sintering (LAPS)—manufactured a subset of samples for comparison. The tests follow Military Standard (MIL STD) 883K and include resiliency evaluation for die shear strength, temperature cycling, thermal shock, and high G loading by mechanical shock. Results indicate …


Low-Cost Open Source Ultrasound-Sensing Based Navigational Support For The Visually Impaired, Aliaksei Petsiuk, Joshua M. Pearce Aug 2019

Low-Cost Open Source Ultrasound-Sensing Based Navigational Support For The Visually Impaired, Aliaksei Petsiuk, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Nineteen million Americans have significant vision loss. Over 70% of these are not employed full-time, and more than a quarter live below the poverty line. Globally, there are 36 million blind people, but less than half use white canes or more costly commercial sensory substitutions. The quality of life for visually impaired people is hampered by the resultant lack of independence. To help alleviate these challenges this study reports on the development of a low-cost, open-source ultrasound-based navigational support system in the form of a wearable bracelet to allow people with the lost vision to navigate, orient themselves in their …