Tessellate: A Research Project into the Capabilities of Powder-Based Polymer 3D Printing

by Fotini Theodoulou

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (or 3D Printing) is a manufacturing technology that affords many unique design opportunities. Some of these include the opportunity for printed assemblies, topology optimisation and complex bespoke forms. However, 3D Printing is not widely used for large-scale manufacture of end parts by design professionals for various reasons; firstly, the parts it produces are more fragile and less reliable than those created with traditional manufacturing methods, which have been around for much longer and are less costly. There are also extensive resources available to designers with these older technologies. As a result, 3D Printing is used predominantly as a hobbyist tool, or for bespoke industrial projects. 

To make Additive Manufacturing more viable for industry professionals designing for large-volume end-part production, research must be conducted into the reliability of the technology. Tessellate delves into the capabilities of powder-based polymer 3D printing; it poses the rhetorical question, ‘How far can we push this emerging technology?’. More broadly, Tesselate serves as an open enquiry into the significance of the Designer / Maker; particularly the value of a Designer’s skill set and vision.

Design Intent

The intent of my research project is to demonstrate the unique capabilities of Powder-Based Polymer 3D Printing by producing an accurate complex mechanism in an assembled state. My design process has consisted predominantly of constructive design research, from which I have generated three deliverables:

• A working timing mechanism and corresponding printed assembly prototypes,

• A detailed set of design guidelines,

• Documentation of my design process with images, in my dissertation.

Two research questions were formulated to direct my study:

• What design opportunities of powder-based 3D printing make it unique and valuable compared with other forms of making objects? What products best exemplify these opportunities?

• How can Designer / Makers develop domain specific knowledge about powder-based 3D printing? What is this domain specific knowledge, and how can it be used to design successful geometries and more environmentally responsible products?

Research outcomes from this project are significant to Designer / Makers and more widely to industry. The design guidelines are a resource for another designer wanting to produce an accurate complex mechanism using 3D Printing as a manufacturing process. More broadly, the guidelines contribute to a growing pool of research supporting Additive Manufacturing as a viable technology for end-part production. The final experience prototype demonstrates the capability to produce an accurate complex mechanism using Powder-Based Polymer 3D Printing. Supporting printed assembly prototypes suggest that the timing device would be successful as a printed assembly, if design specifications listed in the Design Guidelines are followed.

There is also opportunity in the future for the development of a biomaterial to be used in combination with powder-based 3D Printing; such a process will take years of research and development; however, it is a goal that would greatly contribute to a greener future. As research into the reliability of powder-based 3D printing of polymers grows, design professionals in the industry will increasingly adopt the unique opportunities it affords to produce unique and environmentally responsible end-products.

Bio

As a designer, I am passionate about producing innovative and environmentally responsible products. When beginning my Honours degree, I knew that I wanted to build on my Computer Aided Design (CAD) skills and experiment further with 3D Printing (primarily Powder-Bed Fusion). My passion for 3D Printing first developed in my bachelor’s degree, during which I experimented with printing in various materials (such as Stainless Steel and Nylon powder).

In 2019, I was fortunate enough to study abroad at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (The Netherlands), where I worked alongside other young and ambitious designers. 

As a designer, I am hardworking and driven. I have worked alongside various clients as a product and graphic designer; my portfolio includes website design, design for print (e.g. catalogues), product renderings and design for production (e.g. technical packs). 

I hope to use my knowledge of 3D Printing to design products for the cosmetics industry. I see opportunity to design environmentally responsible packaging using powder-based 3D Printing technology.

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