Design Printing Research Articles

The Medical Right to Repair: Intellectual Property, the Maker Movement, and COVID-19

This article considers the strengths and limitations of the use of 3D printing and additive manufacturing for the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 public health crisis. It explores the role of the Maker Movement in addressing the shortfall in medical equipment during the public health pandemic. Taking a comparative approach, this article evaluates the responses of both the commercial and amateur sides of the 3D printing community to the COVID-19 public health crisis. In the EU, the Fab Lab Network sought to overcome a breakdown in supply chains. In the US, Dale Dougherty of Make Magazine promoted Plan C, in which volunteers have worked together to produce PPE. In Australia, 3D printing has been used to augment supplies of PPE. In this context, a key issue across jurisdictions has been the tension between intellectual property rights and the right to repair—particularly when 3D printing has been applied to deal with shortages in PPE. Senator Ron Wyden put forward the Critical Medical Infrastructure Right-to-Repair Act of 2020 (US) to try to resolve these tensions. Open licensing has proven to be a helpful mechanism to enable open collaboration and sharing of 3D printing designs for the purposes of health care. Nonetheless, it is argued that there should be stronger recognition of the right to repair—particularly in the context of health-care and medical devices. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted that there needs to be a broader array of intellectual property flexibilities to deal with public health emergencies—including in respect of the right to repair. As such, this article supports a broad vision of a TRIPS Waiver which includes the right to repair. The recognition of a right to repair will help promote the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and a COVID-19 recovery. The topic of the medical right to repair has larger implications for sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in respect of responsible production and consumption (SDG 12), as well as good health and well-being (SDG 3), innovation (SDG 9), and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).

Neck orthosis design for 3D printing with user enhanced comfort features

An area of interest in orthopaedics is the development of efficient customized neck orthoses, considered that pathologies which affect the neck area are widespread. Advanced acquisition and modelling approaches combined with Additive Manufacturing (AM) can potentially provide customized orthoses with improved performance and complexity. However, in the design of these devices, besides functional and structural requirements, benefit and comfort of the patient should be a main concern, in particular, at the early stage of design during the acquisition of the body’s part, and while using the printed orthosis. In this paper, a scanning system with three sensors was developed which allows a fast, about 5 s, and accurate acquisition of the neck area with minimum discomfort for the patient. A neck orthosis with a ventilation pattern obtained by Topology Optimization (TO), lightened by about 35%, was also established. In fact, a main role for comfort is played by the ventilation pattern which contributes both to lightness and breathability. Its structural and comfort performance was evaluated in comparison with an orthosis with a ventilation pattern configured by Voronoi cells. Structural assessment was carried out by means of finite element analysis under main loading conditions. An evaluation of neck temperatures in relation to wearing 3D printed prototypes, manufactured with Hemp Bio-Plastic® filament, was finally conducted by means of a thermal imaging camera. TO orthosis prototype showed a better performance regarding thermal comfort, with a maximum increase of neck temperature less than 1 °C, which makes the proposed configuration very promising for user's comfort.

Printable Energy Storage: Stay or Go?

In the era of rapidly evolving smart electronic devices, the development of power supplies with miniaturization and versatility is imperative. Prevailing manufacturing approaches for basic energy modules impose limitations on their size and shape design. Printing is an emerging technique to fabricate energy storage systems with tailorable mass loading and compelling energy output, benefiting from elaborate structural configurations and unobstructed charge transports. The derived "printable energy storage" realm is now focusing on materials exploration, ink formulation, and device construction. This contribution aims to illustrate the current state-of-the-art in printable energy storage and identify the existing challenges in the 3D printing design of electrodes. Insights into the future outlooks and directions for the development of this field are provided, with the goal of enabling printable energy storage toward practical applications.

Path-driven shell lattices designed for continuous fiber composite 3D printing

3D printing of continuous fiber reinforced composites (CFRC) significantly strengthens the mechanical properties of the printed parts. However, design for CFRC 3D printing coupled with continuous path planning is challenging and still underdeveloped, especially for the novel lattice structures. Hence, this work develops a shell lattice design method and a series of 3D shell lattices for CFRC 3D printing. First, the feasibility of fabricating existing shell lattices like triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) by CFRC 3D printing is discussed. Then, a path-driven shell lattice (PDSL) design method for CFRC 3D printing is presented. The proposed PDSL is constructed from a stack of multi-directional continuous paths defined by a novel periodic function. Both the periodicity and path continuity are guaranteed to enable the continuous fiber deposition. The mechanical properties of the PDSL are optimized with the inverse homogenization method. The surface mean curvatures of the PDSL are optimized with the Surface Evolver to realize a minimal surface with close-to-zero mean curvatures. Finally, both the PDSLs and TPMSs are fabricated by CFRC 3D printing and evaluated by the three-point bending test. The test result demonstrates that the proposed PDSLs realize better mechanical performance under the specific loading condition.

Design for 4D Printing of Biodegradable Shape Memory Polymers for Disposable UAV Systems.

The use of bio-based smart materials is vital for achieving the desired morphing characteristics while improving the efficiency of disposable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems. Smart materials combine the structure and actuator into a single element without discrete moving parts, thereby minimizing the weight and mechanical complexity of the UAV system. Biodegradable smart materials facilitate the realization of smart actuation concepts that help in potentially improving system reliability and reducing the risk of potential component failure. However, the manufacturing of biodegradable smart materials is a huge challenge. Recent advances in 3D printing technologies have opened new possibilities for manufacturing biodegradable smart materials. The 3D printing technologies have been further extended to 4D printing, which essentially involves fabricating 3D smart structures. The goal of this research is to investigate the manufacturing challenges involved in the 4D printing of biodegradable smart polymer materials for disposable UAV systems. The manufacturing process consists of a combination of biodegradable smart polymer materials in conjunction with SLA-based 3D printing technology. The study will involve extensive theoretical investigations followed by experimental studies. The results of this study are expected to open up new possibilities for using biodegradable smart polymer materials at commercial scales.

Texture-modified soy protein foods: 3D printing design and red cabbage effect

3D printing can be used to develop texture-modified foodstuffs that are nutritious and appealing to meet the demands of special consumer needs such as those of the elderly with swallowing disorders (dysphagia). In this work, vegetable-containing protein-based food with different internal 3D structures (infill rates of 12.5, 25, and 50%) was elaborated using 3D printing. First, doughs with different soy protein isolate (SPI) content (20, 25 and 30 w/v %) were prepared to select the dough with the most suitable shape fidelity after being printed in an extrusion 3D printer, the dough with 25% SPI (25-SPI) in this case. Then the 25-SPI doughs with 10, 20 and 30 wt % red cabbage (RC) were prepared, and rheologically and physicochemically analysed before printing. All doughs presented a shear thinning behaviour since the viscosity decreased when the shear rate increased, a suitable rheological behaviour for 3D printing. Regarding the effect of RC in the food formulation, viscosity and storage (G′) and loss (G”) moduli increased as RC content increased, with G’ > G” for all doughs, indicating a solid-like behaviour, beneficial to maintain the shape and size of the food sample once it has been printed. 3D printed samples were homogeneous and showed cavities which got reduced gradually as more RC was added to the doughs, as confirmed by SEM analysis. Besides, the texture profile analysis showed that the hardness, gumminess and chewiness of the hydrated samples increased when the infill of the samples increased, while the addition of RC had an opposite minor effect. All food samples were labelled as transitional food, as defined by the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework.

Effect of printing design and forming thermal environment on pseudo-ductile behavior of continuous carbon/glass fibers reinforced nylon composites

Hybrid carbon/glass fibers composites can possess pseudo-ductility of progressive failure through material design to achieve the function of load early warning. The printing design and forming thermal environment of parts have important influence on the pseudo-ductile behavior of hybrid fiber composites. In this paper, the hybrid continuous carbon/glass fibers reinforced nylon composites with progressive failure pseudo-ductility were prepared by additive manufacturing, and the effects of printing layer thickness, carbon/glass fibers layer ratio and forming thermal environment on the tensile properties and pseudo-ductility of hybrid fiber composites were investigated and characterized. The results indicate that the printing layer thickness has no significant impact on the tensile strength of hybrid fiber composites, the pseudo-ductility is obvious when the layer thickness of [G5C2G5] is 0.075 mm and 0.125 mm. With the same material ratio, reducing the layers or setting the printing platform temperature (100 °C) can decrease defects generation to achieve the better pseudo-ductility. However, the pseudo-ductility immensely weakens using the annealing treatment of 120 °C for 3 h. The pseudo-ductility of the [G5C2G5]0.075, [G5C2G5], [G3C1G3] and [G4C1G4] samples have been discovered successfully.

Assessment of Factors Influencing Consumers’ Preference for African Print Fabrics in Southwest Nigeria

This study examines the factors influencing consumers' preferences for African print fabrics, also known as African prints or Ankara fabrics, which are machine printed wax print designs on textiles. These fabrics hold a significant economic value and are considered premium products in the African textile market. The research specifically focuses on Southwest Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted, utilizing both open-ended and close-ended questionnaires. The study population comprised users of African print fabrics in Southwest Nigeria. To determine the sample size, online sample size calculator was used due to the infinite number of African print fabric users. A total of 384 users were sampled. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistical tools, and inferential analysis was conducted using independent sample t-test. The findings indicate that design plays a crucial role in influencing the purchasing decisions of African print fabric users. Based on the results, it is recommended that African print companies prioritize the quality of their designs and consider consumers' preferences, including colour choices and motifs, during the design process.

Psychological Color and Texture in Marketing and Textile Printing Design

Psychological Color and Texture in Marketing and Textile Printing Design

Buildability analysis on effect of structural design in 3D concrete printing (3DCP): An experimental and numerical study

The importance of numerical modeling and simulation approaches increases with increased scale as it allows for early results predictions. This study evaluated the buildability of novel construction and demolition waste (CDW)-based geopolymer materials for 3-dimensional printing (3DP) structures for the built environment. The feasibility of the developed numerical model for 3DP of built environment structures was also evaluated. This study reported the fresh-state properties of geopolymer-based materials, and based on these results, numerical modeling for 3DP of geopolymer material was performed. Three cylindrical structures with diameters of 300 mm, 450 mm, and 600 mm were printed, with the same printing conditions, resulting in buildability of 352.5 mm, 322.5 mm, and 277.5 mm (total height constructed before the collapse), respectively. In the next stage of the study, a comparative analysis was performed to assess the compatibility of numerical models for CDW-based geopolymer materials. In the numerical results, three structures showed early failure prediction from experimental results at 31.91%, 29.10%, and 29.73%, respectively. The geopolymer materials developed were suitable for 3DP, and close agreement in results and repeatability were observed. The numerical model provided a reliable failure prediction for different structures. Hence, the model can be utilized to evaluate the buildability of the structures before the actual 3DP, which can significantly reduce the time and cost of the project.

Research into the effects of pigment printing parameters on sensorial comfort to guide garment designers in the apparel industry

The printing process, which is an aesthetically significant process subprocess in garment design, has the potential to affect the physical properties and sensory comfort of the fabric. Due to its low cost and very fast process period and the fact that it is environmentally conscious, pigment printing is widely used in the textile industry. This study it’s aimed to guide the designers in the selection of printing type for piece printing according to the fabric type by considering the print area and print pattern in the apparel industry. For this purpose, the effects of commonly used pigment printing pastes on the physical properties and sensorial comfort in knit fabrics of different constructions were studied. To that end, two different patterns were applied to three knit fabrics with different constructions by using three different pigment printing methods to assess several features of the fabrics, namely, print quality, air permeability, roughness, compressibility and bending. As a result of this study, it was observed that the printing application method and print pattern design have a significant impact on the handle properties of the fabric. Consequently, it was revealed that it is necessary to take into account the printing application method and print pattern design in the process of printed clothing design. Among the print types evaluated in this study, the best print type was determined in terms of sensorial comfort and physical properties. In addition, suggestions were made on the issues to be considered during the print design of print types with worse comfort and physical properties.

Utilization of Cigarette Box Waste to Become a Mangrove Batik Printer in Tanjung Rejo Village, Percut Sei Tuan District

There are not many uses of mangroves as natural batik dyes, due to the lack of information available about these natural ingredients. The process of using natural colors in batik techniques has been carried out by our ancestors for generations until synthetic colors were found which were considered practical and economical. Batik is a commodity that is currently growing rapidly. Batik has now become a fashion trend in all walks of life, making batik craftsmen more enthusiastic about developing their products. In this process, batik is still stamped manually. This village has batik activities using natural dyes, namely mangrove stems around Tanjung Rejo Village. The proposing team is interested in PKK activities in Tanjung Rejo Village and intends to make them Partners. The partners of the Proposal Team are a group of Batik Mangrove Lestari craftsmen chaired by Mrs. Hamidah under the Tanjung Rejo Village PKK coordinator. This group is able to produce one batik cloth per person per week and one person printed batik 10 cloths/week, which can be sold for 300,000 to 1,000,000 per batik. But right now they are struggling with the rising prices of batik materials, they are confused about how much more batik is for sale, especially batik printers, the increase is up to 100% for a price of around 1,000,000 / pcs with 1 type of motif. While the people of Tanjung Rejo Village themselves still make batik manually using a canting and a printer. Since it was the one they used to use, with the price of the printer going up to 100% they were at a loss as to how to outsmart it. Meanwhile, with 1 batik, 1 motif and it is impossible for them to change the motif continuously while the price reaches 1,200,000/pcs for the printer. For this reason, the proposing team tried to devise creative ideas to use cigarette boxes to become batik printers later, considering that many cigarette box wastes are scattered around Tanjung Rejo Village. Because the creativity that will be made is one that can increase their income in Tanjung Rejo Village besides selling batik, they can also sell batik printers from cigarette box waste later outside of Tanjung Rejo Village. From the survey results, several problems were found in Tanjung Rejo Village: the lack of knowledge of using cigarette boxes to make mangrove batik printers, not knowing how to make good and strong batik printing designs, and not knowing about marketing and management techniques. For this reason, the proposing team tried to solve the partner's problem, namely by providing training on the use of cigarette boxes as mangrove batik printers, training on making batik printing motif designs, and training on marketing and management techniques

An integrated method of topological optimization and path design for 3D concrete printing

As an advanced construction technology, 3D concrete printing (3DCP) has the advantage of high manufacturing freedom for various freeform structures. The digital design of 3D printing using topology optimization contributes to obtaining the maximum performance potential from manufactured structures. However, most digitally designed structures obtained by topology optimization cannot be directly manufactured using 3DCP owing to various manufacturing constraints that have not yet been considered in the design process. This paper presents an integrated design method for 3DCP by incorporating extrusion-based manufacturing characteristics into the topology optimization algorithm. Topological optimization is based on the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) method owing to its ease of adaptation to multiple constraints. During the optimization iteration, the manufacturing characteristics of nozzle size and path continuity are considered as the design requirements of 3D printed structures to achieve high-quality manufacturing by using intermittent interruption of topology optimization to modify the design variables. Meanwhile, the anisotropic behaviors of material constraints and the volume and Tsai-Wu criterion of design constraints are introduced to obtain the desired mechanical performance with lightweight designs. Moreover, the number of closed regions and overhang angle controls are incorporated to ensure the global path continuity and stable stacking of optimized 3D structures. A concrete arch structure is 3D printed to validate the proposed integrated method, and the removal of breakpoints and short paths and complete filling rate are demonstrated. The integrated method facilitates the engineering application of 3DCP in a high-efficiency and high-quality manner.

"An Organ of Their Own": Victorian Print Trade Journals and the Evolution of Graphic Design Thinking

Abstract: In 1895, Victorian printer and letterpress historian George Joyner reflected upon the change that had been wrought in the character of British job and book printing, calling it "little short of a revolution!" He is correct; the second half of the nineteenth century saw the transformation of printers into designers. Central to this transformation was the explosion of print trade journals, which fueled the nineteenth-century revolution in British letterpress print design. These journals—more than one hundred of which were founded during the period—became energetic remediators of design reform theory, using this program of ideas to articulate some of Britain's earliest theories of graphic design.

Robust optimization for functional multiresponse in 3D printing process

Computer models are commonly used to simulate the functional relationships between inputs and outputs for quality design in 3D printing. However, the high-dimensional outputs of functional multiresponse make it challenging to develop the simulation model and perform robust optimization. This paper proposes a novel optimization method with an additive multiresponse Gaussian process model for dealing with functional multiresponse optimization problems. First, an additive covariance function is constructed to capture the correlation of the temporal inputs. Second, the Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling technique is adopted to determine the simulation model and quantify the uncertainty. Finally, the optimization model is constructed by integrating the quality loss function and interval analysis method, and the Bayesian optimization algorithm is used to obtain the optimal solution. A numerical simulation example and a 3D printing case study are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The comparison results show that the responses of the proposed method are closer to the targets than the current ones, and all fall within the specified interval.

Towards optimization of polymer filament tensile test for material extrusion additive manufacturing process

Material extrusion (MEX) is a popular additive manufacturing (AM) method that can process a wide range of feedstock materials, most commonly in filament form. Currently, there is no standardized testing method for filament tensile properties, and researchers resort to 3D-printed dog-bone specimens, which necessarily include the effects of the printing process. In this study, the impact of the strain measurement device, knife-edge type, gage length, testing speed, and oven treatment on filament tensile properties was explored using an off-the-shelf fixture. It was observed that an extensometer with blunt knife edges, a filament gage length of 165 mm, and a 6.35 mm/min (0.25 in./min) testing speed could accurately evaluate the tensile properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filaments. In addition, an optimized raster path, 3D printing design, and process parameters were used to manufacture dog bone tensile specimens according to ASTM D638-22 from the same ABS filament spool. The tensile properties of the filaments were validated using the results of 3D-printed dog-bone specimens. Young's modulus, stress at yield, and stress at break for the optimum filament test set (2.20 GPa, 43.9 MPa, and 39.1 MPa) were very similar to those of the 3D-printed specimens (2.26 GPa, 44.9 MPa, and 37.3 MPa). The optimum filament tensile testing parameters determined in this study for ABS can be used for the initial test setup for other filament materials to provide baseline values that can serve as the foundation for AM process development.

The artistic aesthetic and cultural value orientation of 3D printing

Abstract For the current artwork, 3D printing design simulation technology has the disadvantage of low clarity and poor effect, which cannot effectively describe the designer's work. To this end, this paper investigates the artistic aesthetic and cultural value orientation of 3D printing. First, the 3D digitization work of the oil painting was carried out by using the multi-baseline photogrammetry method in photogrammetry technology. Then the non-measurement digital camera was checked for internal orientation elements, the control panel was photographed, and the internal orientation elements of the camera were measured using the spatial backward rendezvous solution method. Next, the digital image acquisition of the oil painting is carried out, and finally, the photos are sequentially introduced into the Lens photo multi-baseline photogrammetry system to generate the color point cloud model of the oil painting after performing the steps of homonymous point selection null-three matching and beam leveling. In order to enhance the visualization effect, the color point cloud model was used to generate a digital model of the TIN irregular triangular network to realize the 3D digitization of oil painting art. The results of the study show that the thickness of each layer obtained by UV inkjet printing of five types of inks: yellow, green, blue, black, and white is about 11.19 μm, 12.71 μm, 7.91 μm, 9.47 μm, and 13.12 μm, respectively. 3D printing technology for positive impact on art design needs to be recognized and respected, and the better development of related technologies can make the advantages and advancement of the technology itself more fully embodied.

Magnetically Responsive Melt Electrowritten Structures

AbstractWhile melt electrowriting (MEW) can result in complex microstructures, research demonstrating such fabrication with active materials is limited. Herein, magnetoresponsive poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) inks containing up to 10 wt% of iron‐oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles are used to produce fiber with diameters of 9.2 ± 0.6 µm in ordered microstructures when processed by MEW. Introducing the Fe3O4 nanoparticles has a minimal overall effect on printing quality compared to pure PCL under similar conditions. The magnetic response of Fe3O4 containing fibers allows magnetic actuation, which is one of the first steps to control movement in such structures. Printed samples show different magnetic responses that can be controlled by the micro‐ and macro‐structure design, the nanoparticle concentration, and multi‐material design. The potential of MEW to print active magnetic complex micro‐ and macro‐structures for 4D printing designs is demonstrated, in which active properties can be further tailored with magnetoresponsive fillers with varying characteristics and by changing MEW fiber diameters.

The Effect of the Isolator Design on the Efficiency of Rotary Piston Compressors

The current work investigates the relationship between the shape of an isolator of a concentric rotary piston compressor and the secondary peak pressure developed during each operating cycle. This peak pressure is developed when the piston passes through the isolator cavity, and it is negative for compressor efficiency. The aim of this paper is to identify the isolator cavity shape that minimizes this secondary peak to improve compressor efficiency. This study covers five different cavities that may be used in such compressors. Contrary to our expectations, the conclusion is that the best geometry is the one that can be manufactured with CNC machining. The geometry that can be manufactured with 3D printing also produces a significantly lower secondary peak pressure, but it is not cost-efficient. Another limitation of the 3D printing design is the thin walls that this cavity creates. Very thin walls may cause significant deformation during the compression cycle. The conclusion is that there is a CNC machining design that is cost-efficient and allows for higher compressor performance.

A FRAMEWORK FOR CREATING A HYBRID EXPERIENCE FOR NFT ARTWORKS THROUGH 3D PRINTING

Technology has become a fundamental part of our environment, yet the borders between the physical and virtual realms become even more blurred. The introduction of the Metaverse is one of the most recent and notable innovations. It, just as any other technological advances, adapts to evolution in user needs serving as a link between the real and digital realms. While people can buy goods and services with a certain currency in the physical realm, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are used for transactions in the Metaverse. NFT provides customers a certificate of ownership, which means that their virtual commodities or assets such as lands or objects cannot be replicated. They may also be used to represent social standing, just like tangible goods and services. It has become increasingly common to come across museums displaying artworks or artists who sell their artworks as Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on digital platforms such as Rarible, Mintable or OpenSea. This research discusses the 3D printability of NFTs and proposes a framework in order to create a hybrid experience for 3D printed NFT artworks. The results have shown that 3D printing of NFTs provided users/customers a hybrid experience in both realms, maintaining the artworks’ uniqueness and rarity, proof of ownership, as well as physical copies in hand. Moreover, the artists who were afraid of publicly displaying their artworks for the concern of being copied have created 3D printable designs that enabled them to easily and safely promote their designs to the public.