Over the last few years, tremendous amount of research efforts has been conducted on 3D printing materials, methods and systems. Various 3D printer materials in different size, shape and geometry can be used for advanced designs, modeling, and manufacturing for different industrial applications. In the present study, dog bone shape specimen was designed via a CATIA CAD model, and then printed by a 3D printer using a polymeric filament (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene - ABS). Some of the prepared samples were heat treated at 40 °C, 60 °C, and 80 °C for 30 minutes, while the others were exposed to the UV light in a chamber for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The surface and mechanical properties of the conditioned samples were determined using water contact angle and tensile test units, respectively. The test results indicated that the heat treatment process increased the mechanical properties; however, the UV exposure tests significantly reduced the water contact angle and properties of the samples. During these studies, undergraduate engineering students were involved in the tests, and gained a lot of hands-on research experiences.

Date Published: 17 April 2017
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 10167, Nanosensors, Biosensors, Info-Tech Sensors and 3D Systems 2017, 1016720 (17 April 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2267719

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10167:
Nanosensors, Biosensors, Info-Tech Sensors and 3D Systems 2017
Vijay K. Varadan, Editor(s)