P10551: Nano-Ink Deposition System Members: Eric Hettler (ME) William Gallagher (ISE) Chris Mieney (ME) Gregory Ryan (ME

1. Pre-Colored Epoxy Reservoirs Mixing Process Deposition P10551: Nano-Ink Deposition System Members: Eric Hettler (ME) William Gallagher (ISE) Chris Mieney (ME) Gregory Ryan (ME) and Joseph Cole (EE) Faculty Guide: Dr. Denis Cormier Motivation: Deposition of multiple material compositions in various quantities can permit a part to be printed with varying material grades across a layer and varying between layers. Project Description: Modify an existing Fab@Home deposition system to mix materials and deposit layer by layer on the print surface. A UV curable resin has been dyed to serve as a medium to demonstrate the printing of multiple materials. For more information visit: www.fab@home.org. Concept Selection Fab@Home Platform Multiple Concepts for mixing and deposition were developed: 1.) Inject individual color into stream of clear material 2.) Mix pre-colored material 3.) Premix dye and inject into stream of clear material Curing Concepts 1.) Laser 2.) LEDs 3.) Halogen Bulbs 4.) Florescent UV Bulbs The selected concepts were chosen due to cost constraints, predicted performance, and alignment with Fab@Home mission to allow others to replicate. Commercial 3d Printers are expensive and are designed for one type of material. Fab@Home is a complete open source system, where all design, program and operation information is available to the public. The mission is to promote affordable technology where the user can develop their own ideas and make it happen. Fab@Home originated at Cornell University, and has been used by research organizations globally. System Architecture UV Curable Resin WaterShed® XC 11122 -Commonly used for sterolithography -Looks like acrylic -Feels like ABS -Designed for Solid State Laser Mixer -Mixing manifold designed to accommodate various geometry patterns as needed. -Luer taper fits on end to accommodate various nozzle sizes -Three Lee Micro valves are attached to manifold to control fluid dispensing -Utilizes open source software -Motion Control was analyzed and proven sufficient Print Carriage Modification Micro valve Material Reservoirs Curing -6 Watt T5 blacklight bulbs – peak output of 352 nm -Standard, widely available lighting fixtures -Simple construction, requires only minimal modification to existing system Curing Bulb Mount Mixer/Manifold -Attaches to existing carriage Testing: -Various print settings were tested to evaluate the properties of the system. With modification of these settings, deposition rate can be controlled. -Testing consisted of mixed material deposition and multiple layer deposition. -Curing time was measured as the time to cure until the next layer can then be printed. -Layer thickness was measured, however the outline size was difficult to assess. Various colors printed • Results and Conclusions: • Functionality: • -Final system successfully combines and prints multiple materials, although color mixing could use some improvement. • Future work and recommendations: • -Develop a more robust control system within the Fab@Home architecture. • -Construct a dynamic mixing manifold to ensure thorough mixing. Acknowledgements: Dr. Denis Cormier Gerry Garavuso RIT Brinkman Lab Fab@Home.org