Week 12

Chapter 8

Product Development 2 - 3D Printing

Greetings brothers and sisters. Welcome back to our blog! It has been a while since we did our weekly blogs and I hope you did not missed us!

This week's blog is a continuation from our previous blog about Product Development and we will be focusing on 3D Printing. 

We started the lesson with an introduction to digital fabrication. My take on digital fabrication is that it is important in this current era and in the future as it encourages creativity which is needed in making cutting-edge technology. Our society continues to digitize as we head further into the future. Those who do not wish to learn and adapt will be left behind.

Our class was tasked to adopt the peer teaching-model to which we had to peer teach our respective topics assigned by Mr. Ting to the rest of the class. Our topic was:

1. 3D Printing Material

• What are some interesting materials used in FDM, SLA or SLS printing

2. Choosing the suitable thermoplastic for FMD 3D Printing

• Briefly discuss the characteristics, strengths and limitations as well as possible areas of application of common thermoplastic materials that are used in FMD printing such as PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU etc.

FDM Printing: 3D Vegan Steak

Steak A 

Steak B

Which is the vegan steak? Steak B! It is amazing how they both look identical. An Israeli company invented 3D printed vegan steak known as Redefine Meat. It is the world's first 3D printed vegan steak and they managed to replicate the texture, taste as well as the appearance of an actual steak! They even have 3D printed kebabs and sausages!

Ingredients used:

1. Soy
2. Pea proteins
3. Coconut fat
4. Sunflower oil
5. Natural colours 
6. Flavour additives

SLS Printing: Reconstructed Beak

This other stunning 3D printed work was made by Richard Rasmussen. Richard is a Brazilian biologist who fabricated the replacement beak for a Toucan named Zazu. 

      

Materials used: 

• Polylactic Acid
• Heterogeneous Toucan Beak Bone Powder
• Polyamide 12

                         

Suitable Thermoplastic for FMD Printing

Thermoplastics

What are they?

• A type of plastic made up of polymer
• When heated they turn soft
• When cooled they turn hard

Examples of thermoplastics:

• PLA, Polylactic-Acid Plastic
• ABS, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
• PETG, Polyethylene Terephthalate
• TPU, Thermoplastic Polyurethane

PLA Plastic

Affordable, biodegradable and eco-friendly

Properties:

• Melting Point of 150°C
• Ultimate Tensile Strength of 26MPa
• Young’s Modulus of 2.47 GPa

Strength:

• made from renewable resources:
• Corn starch
• Sugar cane

Limitation:

• Unsuitable for high temperature

Applications:

• Food packaging
• Cutlery

ABS Plastic

Opaque material, rigid, strong and hard

Properties

• Melting point of 250°C
• Ultimate Tensile Strength of 77 MPa
• Young’s Modulus of 6.10 GPa

Strength:

• Tough
• Hard
• Light

Limitation:

• Toxic fumes after heating

Application:

• Food handling
• Oil and gas transportation
• LEGO

PETG Plastic

Easily fabricated, strong and durable.

Properties:

• Melting point of 280°C
• Tensile Strength of 50MPa
• Young’s Modulus of 2.145GPa

Strength:

• Polymer resin material made into common used items
• Non-toxic

Limitation:

• Does not break down easily
• Plastic pollution

Application:

• Clothes and containers for liquid and foods

TPU Plastic

Rubber-like material, flexible and smooth to the touch.

Properties: 

• Ultimate Tensile Strength of 41 MPa
• Young’s Modulus of 0.228 GPa

Strength:

• Flexible
• Safe for food usage

Limitations:

• High material cost
• Special manufacturing conditions

Application:

• Hoses
• Seals
• Phone case

This is the end of this week's blog. I hope this week's blog was insightful and relevant to you. See you next week! Peace.

 

About author: Amal is one of the founding members of Group 2 of  CP5065: Introduction to Chemical Design

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