Brick By Brick

In this project, we designed and manufactured a FDM 3D printer that would simultaneously coil nylon fishing line, heat it, and extrude it onto a surface in a spiral configuration. This is intended for the axial actuation of the extruded pattern that is induced when a heat source is applied (electrical/conduction). Despite only sticking to pure nylon fishing line in this project, further work would entail the inclusion of a electrically conductive wire that would induce heat electrically. Work done can be seen in the video below.

“3D-Printing” metals have always been a challenge in the additive manufacturing industry; traditional techniques used such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) inhibits the use of more than one metal powder during every powder bed recoating process without cross-contamination. Asides from that, jetting means have been implemented such as material jetting/binder jetting where metal particles are mixed with a for of photocurable polymer fluid/ binder that helps a multi-material model to be 3D printed in its desired shape; the drawback using this method is that lengthy post-processing is required such as inserting the final part into a furnace to fuse the metal particles and incinerate the polymer particles that make up the composite. This causes dramatic shrinkage and a final part that has a low metal density (80%). The proposed solution and alternatives to these methods is to create a metal powderdispensing mechanism/nozzle that would accurately and selectively deposit two different metal...

Directed towards the luxury and culinary market, the Iowa 3D Club started a project on a FDM printer that would use a pneumatic driving system to extrude chocolate and fuse multiple 2D voxels into a solid 3D geometry. Once we attained 4 stepper motors, an arduino MEGA, a RAMPS 1.4 shield, A4988 Stepper motor drivers, limit switches, we were able to create the linear stages and extruding mechanism. The underside of the print bed is lined with a nylon tubing coil that has pumped cold water flowing through it. A fan channeling cold air to the print surface will be implemented next, while trying to isolate heat loss from the heated syringe extruder itself. Upon multiple iterations of mechanical components and fixtures for the minimization of dead space, the feedrate, nozzle diameter, and temperature settings are still being tested. 

In my Modern Robotics and Automation, my team of 5 created a plant care-taking system that watered the plant when soil moisture was low using a water pump and soil moisture sensor, turned a ultraviolet light on and off using a scheduling function on the Raspberry Pi, detected the height of the plant and notified the user of any changes by sending an email, along with alerting the user when the water level in the watering reservoir ran low. All functions could also be manually overridden using a client side python script from the Python2IDE app.

The Iowa 3D Club has always strive to provide low cost prosthetics to the young and old all across the nation. We have dabbled in elbow-down prosthetics and contacted clients through the web using pictures for measurements but never before have we had the pleasure to work with someone in our own school backyard. Erica Cole - a senior in the University of Iowa faced an unfortunate event 8 months back that resulted in the loss of a leg (below-knee) but still wanted to take on a scuba diving class she had enrolled in. We reached out to her and proposed a project to work alongside her to create a prosthetic scuba diving foot/fin that would be compatible to the prosthetic she uses to walk. Once she had agreed to collaborate with us, we took 3D scans and measurements of her prosthetic foot, along with all the components it comprised of. After that, we went straight to the drawing board and started multiple CAD iterations of the mechanisms desired for the ankle and the 3D...

Upon countless nights of research on various entry level 3D printers, I finally treated myself to a $200 Monoprice Select Mini V2 3D printer. After multiple days of multiple prints, I decided to design and print something on my own that I could share with friends that were coming back to Iowa City from summer break. I designed a phone case that would allow phones to be propped up at eight different angles (0 to 90 degrees) for the various scenarios they may be used for. The design included they're family name on the front surface of the model, they loved it!

On Thursday, April 25th, the Iowa 3D Club volunteered for SHPE's Noche de Ciencias outreach event at West Liberty Elementary School, IA to promote knowledge and interest in STEM among the Hispanic community. On this day, we demonstrated to 300 kids between the grades of 1st to 5th grade on how 3D printing works and had a game table where they had the chance to win 3D-printed "Avengers" themed toys.

In this project, a package-delivery drone was created for the purpose of delivering small payloads to natural-disaster survival victims (100g in mass). The drone was first designed in Creo Parametric 4.0, electrical components were modeled and arranged to account for the center of gravity of the drone, as well as the minimization of dead space. Furthermore, solid extrusions were shelled to reduce the weight of the drone. The parts were then milled out of plastic on a Tormach, which was later assembled. The electrical components were then assembled onto the drone. Next, the angle of tilt was analyzed and calibrated and the electrical components were tested manually using an app through the raspberry pi's wifi. Furthermore, the package release mechanism using a servo and aluminum sheet metal was manufactured and tested.