Week 12

 Week 12 

Product development 2--- 3D Printing 😄 

This is the first lesson that we had after the mid semester break. This week’s focus is on Digital Fabrication. To give us an introduction on this, Dr Noel printed our name tag that we created ourselves on week 7 using the software, Fusion 360. 

This is an example: 

So, what is Digital Fabrication?

Digital Fabrication is a type of manufacturing process where the machine is controlled by a computer.    (info@opendesk.cc), 2021)

Why digital fabrication?

·       1.  It is fully customizable on the individual needs

·      2.  We can make objects when we need to like specific replacements parts without replacing the whole thing

Digital fabrication is also becoming an important enabling technology in many chemical engineering fields.

It is also helpful in prototyping as:

·        1. It allows physical evaluation of the design

·        2. Allows to perform functional testing before committing to a full production run

·        3. Allows us to print numerous designs iterations to identify and remove errors before production

Good for end use parts as well as it allows:

·        1. Extend lifespan of older equipment by printing obsolete parts

·        2. Reverse-engineer spare parts

·        3. Customizable high value/low volume End-Use production

Here are some examples that we went through as well👀

1. 

Chemical Engineering students developed a prototype for an artificial kidney that makes use of 3D printed parts and hollow fibre membrane technology.

2.  Material Research for 3D printing

A chemical engineering student from Texas Tech University, Brandon sweeney, discovered that the Carbon Nanotubes infused printable polymer filaments heat up quickly when exposed to microwave and hence can fuse together in layers in a 3D print to make it stronger.

3. 

Activity Time👏

After going everything, it was time for the activity. Each group was tasked to develop the teaching materials for a designated topic, and peer-teach the topic to the class.

Since we were group 3, this was our topic and what we were supposed to focus on,

This is the link to the slides that we used in the class presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12rHvNSlSdM45ML1bL3rg2IzoPPVgKB7UGCdLdOCbFR0/edit?usp=sharing

 

❓Quiz❓

After every group in the class has presented, we were to do a quiz to test our understanding. We may not have done well the first attempt, but we did better for the second attempt.

 

Resources:

(info@opendesk.cc), O., 2021. Opendesk - Digital Fabrication. [online] Opendesk.cc. Available at: <https://www.opendesk.cc/about/digital-fabrication#:~:text=what%20is%20digital%20fabrication%3F%20Digital%20fabrication%20is%20a,the%20machine%20used%20is%20controlled%20by%20a%20computer.> [Accessed 6 August 2021].