Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

ORNL Team 3D Prints Device for Improving Carbon Capture Technology

According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have less than ten years to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 percent to prevent runaway climate change. Some environmentalists argue that even that projection is too optimistic. To prevent the collapse of our ecosystem, some researchers are betting on a technology called carbon capture and storage (CCS). This includes a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which has 3D printed an aluminum device for improving carbon capture at fossil fuel plants and other industrial sites.

While carbon capture can be performed in several different ways, the most common method involves attempting to filter carbon dioxide (CO2) from a smokestack using a solvent, such as monoethanolamine, that separates the GHG from the flue gasses. As the CO2 meets the solvent, heat that is produced can reduce the ability of the solvent to react with the CO2, limiting its efficiency.

Image courtesy of RMCMI.

ORNL improved the efficiency of this process by creating a device that integrates with a heat exchanger with a mass-exchanging contactor to remove excess heat. The item was tested within a circular device measuring one meter high by eight inches wide and made up of seven stainless-steel packing pieces. Installed in the top half of the column between packing elements, the 3D-printed part allowed for the integration of a heat exchanger. In turn, the group was able to reduce temperatures and, therefore, improve CO2 capture.

In 2019, ORNL researchers Costas Tsouris and Eduardo Miramontes operated the intensified device inside of the absorption column, which contains commercial stainless-steel packing elements. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The project’s Principal Investigator, Xin Sun, explained how such a process was previously unattainable: “Prior to the design of our 3D printed device, it was difficult to implement a heat exchanger concept into the CO2 absorption column because of the complex geometry of the column’s packing elements. With 3D printing, the mass exchanger and heat exchanger can co-exist within a single multifunctional, intensified device.”

Embedded coolant channels within the intensified device reduce the column temperature due to the heat produced during the forward reaction. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

To enable heat exchange within the column, cooling channels were incorporated into the steel packing elements. The 3D-printed component, referred to as the “intensified device” was printed from aluminum due to its high thermal conductivity, overall structural strength and its printability.

Costas Tsouris, one of ORNL’s lead researchers on the project, said of the item’s name, “We call the device intensified because it enables enhances mass transfer through in-situ cooling. Controlling the temperature of adsorption is critical to capturing CO2.”

ORNL’s Costas Tsouris, Xin Sun and Eduardo Miramontes, pictured in early March, demonstrated that the 3D-printed intensified device substantially enhanced carbon dioxide capture efficiency. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Lonnie Love, Lead Manufacturing Researcher at ORNL, said that the intensified device was not limited to aluminum:

“The device can also be manufactured using other materials, such as emerging high thermal conductivity polymers and metals. Additive manufacturing methods like 3D printing are often cost-effective over time because it takes less effort and energy to print a part versus traditional manufacturing methods.”

According to some estimates, carbon capture used to reduce emissions from fossil fuel plants could cut CO2 by 55 to 90 percent. However, the bigger issue is not just removing GHGs from the source, but what is done with the material once it’s removed. In the short term, CO2 is already used to extract oil from wells, with the material injected into wells to drive out crude oil. In other words, carbon capture is actively contributing to climate change and the resulting ecological collapse because it is increasing the use of fossil fuels obtained through this enhanced oil recovery.

Long-term storage is another issue. Hypothetically, after CO2 is transported via pipeline as a liquid or gas, it could then be stored underground or underwater in geological formations. Though it may be technically feasible, it has not been tested extensively and we do not know what the side effects of storing excess CO2 underground or underwater. Similar to the short-term problem, this solution disincentivizes fossil fuel dependent civilization from shifting to alternative energy sources because it suggests that fossil fuel use can continue indefinitely if we capture it at the source and store it under the earth with unforeseeable consequences using yet-to-be-developed technologies.

The post ORNL Team 3D Prints Device for Improving Carbon Capture Technology appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3D Printing News Briefs: May 16, 2019

We’ve got plenty of business news for you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, starting with Additive Manufacturing Technologies’ impressive growth as of late. ExOne has announced a collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and DigiFabster has announced several updates to its platform. Moving on to new product launches, Shining3D has a new industrial metrology system, and peel 3d introduced a new affordable 3D scanner.

Additive Manufacturing Technologies Showing Rapid Growth

L-R: Gavin Minton and David Manley

UK-based Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) was founded in 2017 and is now emerging from semi-stealth mode and into full commercial production with its automated post-processing and finishing solutions for 3D printed parts. The company is showing rapid growth forecasts, and has been opening new US facilities, announcing partnerships, and hiring important personnel to help with its mission of providing the industry with industrial AM post-processing. AMT has made two important strategic additions to its Global Innovation Centre in Sheffield, appointing David Manley as Non-Executive Chairman and hiring Gavin Minton as the Aftersales and Customer Experience Manager.

“These are indeed exciting times at AMT as we aggressively market and sell our PostPro3D post-processing systems for AM parts having moved from the semi-stealth mode we have been operating in for a couple of years. We have been growing rapidly, but now we are moving to the next level — with our technology capabilities, our facilities and our brilliant team. We are really excited to welcome David and Gavin to AMT — they will be fundamental to our continued growth strategy,” said Joseph Crabtree, CEO at AMT.

“The post-processing step has long been the Achilles heel for AM as it moves to being a true mass manufacturing technology, and we are proud to offer our fully automated solution, which is already revolutionising the ways in which manufacturers integrate AM as a mass production tool. AMT is working in partnership with numerous OEMs, vendors and material suppliers to take the pain out of post-processing with an intelligent and collaborative approach, and we are scaling up production globally in order to share the progress we have made with our post-processing solutions. David and Gavin will join our team to provide key support in this mission.”

ExOne Announces Collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The ExOne Company, which manufactures 3D printers and provides 3D printing services to industrial customers, is collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to continue advancements in binder jet 3D printing technology. Binder jetting is important because it offers lower operating costs, and maintains higher levels of productivity, than many other AM technologies, and ExOne is an industry leader in non-polymer binder jet 3D printing. Its collaboration with ORNL is targeted initially on developing technology for new binder jet systems, leveraging ORNL’s instrumentation and advanced data analysis methodologies, as well as the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL, in order to optimize chemistry and process parameters for its sand and metal systems.

“By collaborating with a world-class lab like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we accelerate ExOne’s binder jetting technology capabilities,” said Rick Lucas, ExOne’s Chief Technology Officer. “We believe these collaborative efforts will effectively and efficiently result in the establishment of new materials, binders and process developments, retaining our significant edge over competitors and other technologies in the industrial manufacturing space.”

DigiFabster Announces Platform Updates

3D printing software and services provider DigiFabster, which uses its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to help companies easily automate and streamline certain business processes, announced that it had made several important enhancements to its platform this spring that will benefit many different types of users, including 3D printing service bureaus. The company has many customers who use HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology, which accepts the 3MF file format, and DigiFabster’s platform now supports 3MF direct uploads through its web-based widget.

DigiFabster also enabled a new feature so that customers can accept purchase orders as a form of payment, and modified the code for its Floating button installation so that it can adapt to different screen widths. Another new capability makes it possible for CNC users, like machine shops, to easily change their pricing based on how complex the machine work is, and the DigiFabster system was also updated to automatically check for wall thickness, so that the files customers receive are ready.

SHINING 3D Launched New Metrology Products

Chinese 3D printing and digitizing company SHINING 3D recently attended the international Control trade fair for quality assurance, and released its latest industrial metrology solution at the event. Three products make up the portable system – the FreeTrak optical scanner, Freescan Trak 3D scanner, and FreeTrak Probe – which work separately and together to offer a comprehensive industrial scale measurement solution.

The versatile FreeTrak system of the wireless solution can capture the scanner structure’s spatial position in real time, and also allows the user to move the part, or tracker, during measurement without the results being compromised, which makes it perfect for use in unstable environments. The FreeTrak Probe, a portable CMM probing system created for use in industrial environments, is not “susceptible to environmental influences” like position changes and vibration, and can be used to generate highly accurate data even in challenging places. The FreeTrak system is now being integrated into SHINING 3D’s metrology and industrial solution ecosystem.

peel 3d Introduces Affordable 3D Scanner

Canadian 3D scanner developer peel 3d is on a mission to provide universal access to affordable, professional-grade 3D scanning technology. Located in Québec, the peel 3d team just launched the peel 2, a brand new variant of its peel 1 scanner that has three cameras instead of just one, for maximum accuracy, resolution, and realism. Powered by Creaform technology like its predecessor, the easy to use peel 2’s integrated color-capture functionality allows users to archive objects in high definition, as well as in their original colors, and monitor the accuracy and progress of the surface coloring. The new peel 2 also features new and improved peel 2.0 software with more functionalities, in addition to a system that uses a scanned object’s texture to improve its ability of positioning itself accurately in space.

“peel 2 pushes back all technical boundaries and redefines the concept of affordable 3D scanners,” stated François Leclerc, the head of the peel 3d initiative. “It will appeal as much to artists wishing to switch over to digital as it will to medical professionals wanting to scan the human body or mechanics working with existing components. It is by far the most comprehensive entry-level scanner on the market.”

The peel 2 is available for purchase online from peel 3d and select retailers for $7,490.

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ORNL and UMaine Initiative Receives Funding to Create New Bio-Based 3D Printing Materials

UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center students and staff lift a boat roof from a mold 3D printed with a new biomaterial, nanocellulose-reinforced PLA, developed at the University of Maine. L-R: Michael Hunter, Camerin Seigars, Zane Dustin, Alex Cole, Scott Tomlinson, Richard Fredericks, and Habib Dagher. [Image: UMaine]

The researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee have spent a lot of time working with unique 3D printing materials, such as polyester, lignin, and nanocellulose, which is a bio-derived nanomaterial. Now, a new research collaboration between ORNL and the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center aims to increase efforts to use wood products as 3D printing materials. Together, the team will work with the forest products industry to create new bio-based 3D printing materials that can be used to make products like building components, boats and boat hull molds, wind blades, and shelters.

The large-scale initiative was announced this week in Washington, DC. Leaders from the university and ORNL, as well as the DoE‘s assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy Daniel Simmons, the founding executive director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center Habib Dagher, and US Sens. Susan Collins, Lamar Alexander, and Angus King were all on hand for the announcement, which also stated that UMaine and ORNL had received $20 million in federal funding for the program from the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.

[Image: UMaine]

“While Oak Ridge is a global leader in additive manufacturing, the University of Maine is an expert in bio-based composites. By working together, they will strengthen environmentally responsible advanced manufacturing in America as well as helping the forest industry in the state of Maine,” Senator Collins said.

Sens. Collins and King requested federal help to save the declining forest products industry in Maine back in 2016, after several paper mills in the state closed their doors. This led to the founding of the Economic Development Assessment Team (EDAT) to work across agencies in order to come up with economic development strategies for the rural communities in Maine that were suffering from the mill closures. This team resulted in the ongoing partnership between UMaine and ORNL.

“Using Maine forest products for 3D printing is a great way to create new jobs in Maine and a good reminder that national laboratories are our secret weapons in helping the United States stay competitive in the rapidly changing world economy. The partnership between the University of Maine and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a model for how science and technology can help Americans prosper in the new economy,” said Senator Alexander.

A 3D printed representation of the state of Maine presented by Habib Dagher, executive director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center. The material was a wood-based product developed at UMaine. [Image: Contributed by the office of Sen. Susan Collins]

This October, ORNL’s BAAM 3D printer will be installed at UMaine, which is actually considered a world leader in cellulose nano fiber (CNF) technology. UMaine students can also visit ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), while staff from the laboratory can in turn learn about cellulose fiber and composites at UMaine’s composites center.

One of the printer’s first tasks will be to fabricate a boat mold out of a wood-based plastic, though the team hopes to apply the technology to many large-scale manufacturing applications.

Habib Dagher, Executive Director of the Advanced Structures & Composites Center holds up 3D printed representations of Maine and Tennessee signifying new manufacturing programs between UMaine and ORNL that will use wood-based products in 3D printing. Sen. Angus King, I- Maine, and Sen. Susan Collins, R- Maine, watch Dagher’s presentation after announcing $20 million in federal funding for the collaboration. [Image: Contributed by the office of Sen. Susan Collins]

Dagher explained, “The material is nanocellulose, basically a tree ground up to its nano structure. These materials have properties similar to metals. We are taking those and putting them in bioplastics so we can make very strong plastics that we can make almost anything with.”

The team will then add the nanocellulose to PLA.

“The University of Maine is doing cutting-edge research related to bio-feedstocks and the application of advanced manufacturing in regional industries,” said Thomas Zacharia, the director of ORNL. “We are thrilled at this opportunity to expand our research base while providing UMaine with access to the leading national capabilities we have developed at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.”

The overall goal for the initiative is to find new uses for wood-based products in an effort to reinvigorate Maine’s forest products industry, while also helping to make regional manufacturing stronger by connecting university–industry clusters with the MDF. The federal funding will be divided equally between both facilities.

“We will integrate 20 years of research in bio-based composites at UMaine and 3D printing at ORNL. It is an opportunity engine for our students, faculty, staff and manufacturing industry who will work side by side with researchers at our nation’s foremost research laboratory. Together, we will break down wood to its nanocellulose structure, combine it with bioplastics, and print with it at hundreds of pounds an hour,” said Dagher. “The research we will be conducting with ORNL will spur next-generation manufacturing technologies using recyclable, bio-based, cost-effective materials that will bolster our region’s economy.”

Scientists from UMaine and ORNL will be conducting research in multiple areas, such as multiscale modeling, CNF production, drying, functionalization, and compounding with thermoplastics, and sustainability life-cycle analysis.

CNF could actually rival the properties of steel, and by successfully adding it into plastics, the researchers could create a renewable feedstock for strong, recyclable, bio-derived material systems that might even be 3D printed at deposition rates of hundreds of pounds an hour. Additionally, using a material that’s 50% wood could help open new markets for the forest products industry.

UMaine will get world’s largest 3D printer and use wood-based plastic to make boat molds

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ORNL Polyester and Vinylester as Possible Materials for Large-Scale 3D Printing

In a paper entitled “Vinylester and Polyester 3D Printing,” researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) teamed up with researchers from Polynt Composites USA to evaluate the feasibility of 3D printing vinylester and polyester materials. The two organizations worked together to assess Polynt base material chemistries for large scale polymer additive manufacturing.

The project consisted of three tasks: rheology and reaction kinetics; solvents, build sheets and safety analysis; and proof of concept demonstration.

“The printability of polyester or vinylester resins is driven primarily by the rheology and reaction kinetics of the polymers,” the researchers state. “These properties can be controlled through chemistry modification and by incorporating additives. The ability to control these properties distinguishes reactive additive manufacturing(AM) from thermoplastic AM, which is driven largely by temperature gradients that can’t be controlled. Polymers tested in Phase 1 of this project had viscosity of 300-700 centipose (cP), with reaction times ranging from 9 to 40 minutes.”

The researchers then evaluated safety considerations for the large scale 3D printing of vinylester and polyester materials. Some of the main concerns addressed involved explosion and health and safety properties of styrene. Low cost Mylar sheets were used for the first phase of the project, and acetone was used for the cleaning of the equipment.

As a proof of concept, the researchers used a Thermobot from Magnum Venus Products to 3D print demonstration articles to show the feasibility of printing vinylester and polyester materials. Quasi-status tensile tests were performed on the 3D printed items for both the X and Z axes. Results showed that this new class of reactive polymers will outperform existing thermoplastic materials used for large scale additive manufacturing. Also, the reduction of properties from print direction (X) to build direction (Z) is only 29 percent, a less significant decrease than for most thermoplastic materials.

“Standard toolpath planning strategies were adopted from thermoplastic printers,” the researchers continue. “However, it was demonstrated that materials evaluated in this project allowed greater freedom in toolpath planning since it was possible to cross a previously deposited bead without stopping and pausing the print. Eliminating stops at bead cross-overs will result in significant time savings and possibly an improvement in the mechanical properties of printed structure.”

Overall, the project showed that polyester and vinylester materials are promising for large scale additive manufacturing.

“High strength values compared to existing thermoplastic additive material have been demonstrated along with less than 30% reduction in Z strength compared to print direction strength,” the researchers conclude. “These materials require no energy input during printing and have been shown to offer increased freedom in toolpath planning. Additionally, carbon fiber, or other additives with low coefficients of thermal expansion, are not required to achieve large scale prints, presenting the possibility of introducing low cost materials for large scale AM.”

The researchers successfully met their goals in Phase 1 of the project, demonstrating the feasibility of using polyester and vinylester for large scale additive manufacturing. The next step is to achieve taller builds and optimize material properties for consistent deposition with available equipment. The researchers believe that these materials could be used in applications requiring strength beyond the reach of existing thermoplastic 3D printing materials.

Authors of the paper include John Ilkka, Steve Voeks, John Lindahl and Vlastimil Kunc.

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Investigates New Lignin-Nylon Composite 3D Printing Material

Lignin is an organic polymer that is present in the cell walls of many plants, giving them rigidity such as in wood and bark. It’s also a byproduct of biorefinery processes, and, thanks to work by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), it could make up a new kind of 3D printing material. The research is documented in a paper entitled “A path for lignin valorization via additive manufacturing of high-performance sustainable composites with enhanced 3D printability.“

“Finding new uses for lignin can improve the economics of the entire biorefining process,” said ORNL project lead Amit Naskar.

The researchers combined a melt-stable hardwood lignin with conventional plastic – a low-melting nylon – and carbon fiber to create a composite with excellent mechanical properties and strength between layers, as well as extrudability. One of the issues of lignin is that it chars easily and can only be heated to a certain temperature before it becomes too viscous to be extruded. When the researchers combined it with nylon, however, they found that its room temperature stiffness increased while its melt viscosity decreased. The composite had tensile strength similar to nylon alone and lower viscosity than ABS or polystyrene.

The researchers conducted neutron scattering at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and used advanced microscopy at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science to investigate the composite’s nuclear structure. They discovered that the combination of lignin and nylon “appeared to have almost a lubrication or plasticizing effect on the composite,” according to Naskar.

“Structural characteristics of lignin are critical to enhance 3D printability of the materials,” said ORNL’s Ngoc Nguyen.

The researchers were also able to mix a higher percentage of lignin – 40 to 50 percent by weight – and then add 4 to 16 percent carbon fiber. The result was a new composite that heats up more easily, flows faster, and results in a stronger 3D printed product.

“ORNL’s world-class capabilities in materials characterization and synthesis are essential to the challenge of transforming byproducts like lignin into coproducts, generating potential new revenue streams for industry and creating novel renewable composites for advanced manufacturing,” said Moe Khaleel, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environmental Sciences.

The lignin-nylon composite is patent-pending, and the researchers will continue to work with it to refine it and find other ways to process it. ORNL has been working with lignin for several years, and has done a lot of work with other novel 3D printing materials as well. As the researchers point out, petroleum-based thermoplastics still dominate the 3D printing materials market; the market for wood- and plant-based 3D printing materials is still limited because of their inherent difficulties in melt processing.

“Our study opens a new avenue of using isolated lignin as a feedstock for formulating 3D-printing materials having superior mechanical and printing characteristics,” they conclude. “Our findings have the potential to create additional revenue streams for biomass processing industries via the added value of lignin. In addition, it may accelerate installation of pilot biomass fractionation units in rural areas before feeding the whole biomass to a biorefinery and boost local polymer compounding industries that manufacture or compound materials for 3D printing and injection molding.”

Authors of the paper include Ngoc A. Nguyen, Sietske H. Barnes, Christopher C. Bowland, Kelly M. Meek, Kenneth C. Littrell, Jong K. Keum and Amit K. Naskar.

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[Source/Images: ORNL]

ORNL Develops a New 3D Printing Material and Showcases Several Others

Lignin is a complex organic polymer that is an important part of the cell walls of many plants, making them woody and rigid. It’s also a 3D printable material, much like cellulose, another building block in plant cells. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a research organization that has done a great deal of important work with 3D printing, has developed a new 3D printing material using lignin.

[Image: Ngoc Nguyen/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy]

The plant-based material, according to ORNL, has excellent printability and performance. Lignin also happens to be a byproduct of the biofuels process, and could become a valuable coproduct with its use as a 3D printing material.

The material is made by combining lignin, rubber, carbon fiber and ABS. Components 3D printed with the material have 100 percent improved weld strength between layers compared to ABS alone.

“To achieve this, we are building on our experience with lignin during the last five years,” said ORNL’s Amit Naskar. “We will continue fine tuning the material’s composition to make it even stronger.”

The details of the patent-pending process have been published in a paper entitled “A general method to improve 3D-printability and inter-layer adhesion in lignin-based composites,” which you can access here. Authors of the paper include Ngoc A. Nguyen, Christopher C. Boland, and Amit K. Naskar.

More of ORNL’s 3D printing expertise was in the spotlight recently as Secretary of Energy Rick Perry traveled to the facility to dedicate Summit, the world’s fastest and smartest scientific supercomputer. Perry didn’t stand at any ordinary wooden podium – he stood behind a futuristic 3D printed podium, courtesy of ORNL. With the exception of the microphone and the wiring, every part of the podium was 3D printed, using different technologies and materials.

The top of the podium was 3D printed with 20% carbon fiber ABS, using a Blue Gantry large-scale polymer deposition system. The printing took six hours, and then the piece was coated with a Tru-Design sand coat with clear paint and a flattening agent. The pedestal was 3D printed with 30% bamboo reinforced with 70% PLA, also using a Blue Gantry System and Tru-Design clear paint and a flattening agent. The component took three hours to 3D print. The Department of Energy seal on the podium was 3D printed from a titanium alloy using an Arcam electron beam melting system. It took nine hours and 44 minutes to print.

The podium is a showcase of the speed and effectiveness of 3D printing, no matter what the technology used. The complex DOE seal traditionally would have to be cast, but 3D printing it was much faster and did not require the use of a die. Attendees at the presentation were able to see how ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility saved money, time and reduced waste through its use of technology. The final product is attractive, with a twisting, multi-sided brown pedestal and a silvery top with the DOE seal prominently displayed. It’s also a highly functional podium, sturdy and durable, with the advanced coatings applied to it making it resistant to rain, sun, or other outdoor elements.

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[Sources/Images: ORNL, Department of Energy]