Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses December 2019 The Processing of Binder Jet Multi-Material 3D Printing to Improve upon Material Properties Sara Mohammed Damas Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Damas, Sara Mohammed, "The Processing of Binder Jet Multi-Material 3D Printing to Improve upon Material Properties" (2019). All Theses. 3224. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3224 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PROCESSING OF BINDER JET MULTI-MATERIAL 3D PRINTING TO IMPROVE UPON MATERIAL PROPERTIES A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Mechanical Engineering by Sara M. Damas December 2019 Accepted by: Dr. Cameron J. Turner, Committee Chair Dr. Gang Li Dr. Suyi Li ABSTRACT Additive manufacturing methods are becoming more prominent in the world of design and manufacturing due to their reduction of material waste versus traditional machining methods such as milling. As their demand rises, a need to improve their methodologies and produce higher quality products arises. The technology to 3D print has been in around since the 1970’s, and thanks to Scott Crump as of 1989, it is possible to 3D print in layers to obtain a solid component. In today’s present time, we now can multi- material 3D print. However, even though we have the technology for multi-material 3D printing, standards in this field are severely lacking. Therefore, research on multi-material 3D printing and/or the combination of 3D printing filaments combined with nanoparticles is needed. One of the most common methods of 3D printing is fused deposition modeling (FDM). In this research, FDM was used to dope Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), to introduce conductive properties for strain measurements. There are three pathways of research in this field. The first is to keep the binder used constant and change the nanoparticles tested. The second is to vary the binder used and keep the nanoparticles constant. The third is two use the same binder and nanoparticles throughout testing, but to vary the environment around them (such as temperature and humidity) to observe the environmental effects of curing and testing these samples. The research in this thesis took the first approach. N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidinone (NMP) was used to bind the selected nanoparticles. In the first experiment, the researchers made their own nanoparticle laced binder, and bounded it to an ABS substrate. The second experiment introduced three new types of nanoparticles to test, nickel, carbon, electric paint. The third ii experiment repeated the methodology of experiment 1 and 2 and the environmental impacts it has on the conductivity of the samples. The fourth experiment analyzed the geometry of the printed pathways and their effect on conductivity. Using the results of experiment 1-4, strain gages were developed for part two of the study. Experiment 5 tested the conductivity of the strain gages, while experiment 6 studied the effect the various nanoparticles had on the stiffness of the 3D printed ABS strain gages. This extensive and detailed study concluded several points. The first point is nickel consistently showed to be the nanoparticle that yielded the least amount of resistance, and therefore, the highest conductivity. Second, layering multiple layers yields the best conductivity results. Third, the binder selected does indeed improve the performance of the nanoparticles. Fourth, the research was able to create individually isolated conductive pathways. Finally, the research demonstrated that the nanoparticles, when bound increased the stiffness of the ABS strain gages. iii DEDICATION The dedication of this thesis could be several pages long. There are not enough words to describe the gratitude I feel to anyone that has lent me a kind word while I was on this journey. Thank you for fueling me to keep going and most importantly keeping me grounded and close to my roots. Whether it was in the form of a warm hug after a long week of failed experiment attempts, words of enlightenment when I was out of ideas, or a warm meal after a long day, your efforts are greatly apricated and didn’t go unnoticed. To name a few with pardon of any exclusion, this thesis is dedicated to the kind people of my small little country (Jordan), all the employees at Liberty Café, the entire Damas and Al- Lozi family and the faculty and staff in the Clemson Mechanical Engineering Department. And of course, to Allah for blessing mankind with a hunger for knowledge, spark of curiosity and the ability to learn and innovate. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I couldn’t have conducted any of these experiments or written this thesis without the help of the professors and students in Dr. Garrett Pataky’s, Dr. Rodrigo Martinez- Duarte’s, and of course my own, Dr. Turner’s lab. Thank you for lending me your equipment, workspace, and expertise. An honorable acknowledgment to my advisor, Dr. Cameron Turner. Thank you for believing in the first-generation college graduate student in your ME 4010 class. v Table of Contents I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 14 1) The Beginnings of Additive Manufacturing ....................................................................... 14 2) The Technology of Additive Manufacturing ...................................................................... 15 3) Types of 3D printing Methods/Technologies .................................................................... 15 4) Additive Manufacturing’s Share in the Market ................................................................. 20 II. Literature Reviews ................................................................................................................. 24 1) Improving the Material Properties of 3D Filament ........................................................... 24 2) Understanding Strain Gages .............................................................................................. 38 III. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 42 A. Part 1: Conductivity Testing Method of Trays ....................................................................... 43 1) Experiment 1: Pilot Testing of Copper Nanoparticles ....................................................... 43 2) Experiment 2: Testing Nickel, Carbon, Electric Paint ........................................................ 48 3) Experiment 3: Retesting All Concentrations of Copper, Nickel, and Electric Paint ........... 50 4) Experiment 4: Testing Trace Distances ............................................................................. 51 B. Part 2: Material Testing of Strain Gages ................................................................................ 53 5) Experiment 5: Conductivity Testing Results of Strain Gages ............................................. 53 6) Experiment 6: Material Testing of Strain Gages ................................................................ 56 IV. Data/Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 58 A. Part 1: Conductivity Testing Results of Trays ........................................................................ 58 1) Experiment 1: Pilot Testing of Copper Nanoparticles ....................................................... 58 2) Experiment 2: Testing Nickel, Carbon, Electric Paint ........................................................ 59 3) Experiment 3: Retesting All Concentrations of Copper, Nickel, and Electric Paint ........... 63 4) Experiment 4: Testing Substrate Distances ....................................................................... 70 B. Part 2: Material Testing of Strain Gages ................................................................................ 73 5) Experiment 5: Conductivity Testing Results of Strain Gages ............................................. 73 6) Experiment 6: Material Testing of Strain Gages .................................................................... 76 V. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 83 VI. References ......................................................................................................................... 88 VII. Appendix A- Drawings of Trays with Channels .................................................................. 92 VIII. Appendix B- Conductivity Test Plan ................................................................................... 97 vi IX. Appendix C- Experiment 2 Results of all Samples ............................................................. 99 X. Appendix D- Experiment 3 Results of all Samples ............................................................... 101 XI. Appendix E- Experiment 4 Results of all Samples ........................................................... 103 Experiment 4 Results of all Layer 1 Samples ................................................................... 103 Experiment 4 Results of all Layer