Design for Metrology in Additive Manufacturing

Younes Chahid

fromnTopology

14 Jul, 2021

Design for Metrology in Additive Manufacturing

Designing for AM, in general, has its challenges. One challenge is ensuring that your designs will be measurable using X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). Below, I briefly go over this and invite you to watch my presentation diving deeper into the subject.

3D Printing

- product design

- prototyping

This article was first published on

ntopology.com

With the rise of design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) awareness, more efficient and functional designs are being made taking advantage of additive manufacturing (AM) complexity. However, at the same time, since these designs are usually complex enough to not be manufactured using conventional manufacturing methods, they are also complex enough to not be measurable using conventional metrology tools.

Figure 1: Additive manufactured steel joints designed by Arup. All designed to carry the same load [1].

To tackle this challenge, a non-conventional metrology tool is usually used, X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). While XCT still lacks standardisation and needs more research to better generate uncertainty statements, it is becoming more and more popular in the AM field.

Figure 2: Design in nTop (left), additive manufacturing in aluminium (middle), XCT and wall thickness analysis using VGStudio.

References

[1] Mercuri, Valentina. (2018). Form and structural optimization: from beam modeling to 3D printing of reinforced concrete members.

This article was first published on the nTopology blog.

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Quad Lock: Smartphone-mounting solution developed with 3D printing

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Karen Leow

fromUltiMaker

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3D Printing

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The Quad Lock Vibration Dampener features a dual-chassis suspension system

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How to use heat set inserts to securely fasten 3D printed parts

One way to enhance the capabilities of your plastic printed parts are heat set inserts. Read on to find out what they are and how they work.

Arun Chapman

fromUltiMaker

31 Mar, 2022

FFF printed parts can be used for more than just ornamental prints. 3D printed parts are used in vehicles, factory machinery, and more. Many 3D printers, themselves, use printed parts. However, plastic does not always stand up well to the stresses that these applications put them under. One way to enhance the capabilities of your plastic printed parts are heat set inserts. Read on to find out what they are and how they work.

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3D printing is a perfect application for heat set inserts. Although, they can also be used with injection-molded parts.

How effective are heat set inserts?

Heat set inserts can greatly improve both the pull-out and torque resistance of fasteners screwed into your printed parts. The exact effectiveness of the insert is dependent on a number of factors, including the quality of the insert itself, the material used, and the settings used when printing your part. The price of inserts can range from 3-cents per piece to 25-cents or more a piece with the higher-priced ones generally giving better performance.

Higher-strength materials like ABS or PETG are generally a better choice when using threaded

Design for Metrology in Additive Manufacturing

Designing for AM, in general, has its challenges. One challenge is ensuring that your designs will be measurable using X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). Below, I briefly go over this and invite you to watch my presentation diving deeper into the subject.

References

Search for articles and topics on Wevolver

Designing the Quad Lock Vibration Dampener

Overcoming validation challenges

What are heat set inserts?

How effective are heat set inserts?

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