Lehigh Tech ID: LU-033017-01
Title: 4D Rheoprinter for High Precision Material Customization of 3D-Printed Products
Lead Inventor: Professor John Coulter, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Summary:
Professor John Coulter from Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics has created a novel additive manufacturing technology allowing material property control to current 3D polymer product fabrication process capabilities.
This important 4th dimension enables additive manufacture of polymeric products with tunable material properties for optimized performance in a wide range of applications.
The parameters that can be controlled include:
- Melt Rheology
- Printed Product Molecular Orientation
- Polymer Crystallization Kinetics.
This novel “4D Rheo-Printing” concept widens the use of 3D printed product for optimized performance in niche applications that require anisotropic and specific orientation of biodegradation, part strength, and barrier properties.
Results show the capability of the 4D Rheo-Printing technology not only to extrude different materials with distinct temperatures and viscosities, but also to mix different materials together in order to come up with precise desirable properties.
Dr. Coulter and his team have built a prototype system; Lehigh University has a filed PCT application, and we seek innovative partners to commercialize the technology into the 3D printing market.
Figure. Basic depiction of polymer deposition head and control mechanisms associated with proposed “4D Rheoprinting” based on micro precision extrusion processes. Rheoprinter can also be designed for fused deposition.
Description:
The invention involves a novel additive manufacturing technology that adds material property control to current 3D polymer product fabrication process capabilities. Most important, controlling this 4th dimension enables additive manufacture of polymeric products with tunable material properties for optimized performance in a wide range of applications. The parameters that can be controlled include melt rheology, printed product molecular orientation, and crystallization kinetics. Development and refinement of the technique is accomplished through science-based incorporation of additional physical and process control elements that enables optimal tuning of melt-dynamics and temperature throughout the printing process. These elements add control over resulting temporal pressures, temperatures, and strain rates that in turn directly impact molecular orientation evolution, relaxation dynamics, and crystallization kinetics during processing. The technology also provides customization of the polymer deposition melt flow rate, such that the printing speed can be maintained without effecting the deposited polymer’s dimensional parameters. The conventional 3D printing processes that will be augmented with this concept is fused deposition and micro-precision extrusion.
Rick Smith, MSEE, MBA, MSEAT, CLP, RTTP
Director, Office of Technology Transfer
Lehigh University
354 Whitaker Lab
5 East Packer Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015-3181
Email: res419@lehigh.edu
Office: (610) 758-5841
Fax: (610) 758-5888