Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing
This is a fairly small component of my research portfolio, and mainly aimed
at promoting research experience among undergraduate students. This
hands-on research allows students to apply scientific and engineering
principles and knowledge to real-world challenges, and enriches the
student learning experience, by
- introducing students to material properties of polymers and how they
affect the print process and the selection of print parameters.
- promoting critical thinking, needed for trouble shooting.
- promoting interdisciplinary learning, through linking concepts of
materials science, chemistry, and physics.
- promoting independence: students learn how to design their own projects.
Here is an (unranked) list of our current interests:
- Prototyping: we are using a wide range of different filaments, including flexible,
magnetic, and conducting filaments.
- Developing and testing in-situ 3D print verification technologies,
that can be used for a large range of different 3D printer types.
- Developing and testing strategies to retrofit 3D printers for positioning
and sensing.
We are using FDM 3D printers, they are compartively cheap, and
show very similar workflow characteristics as compared to metal or ceramic
printers.
If you are interested in more details, please do not hesitate to reach out to
Dr. Boris Kiefer.