objet30 Prime Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

Researchers are looking into ways to optimize biomedical monitoring, with their results outlined in ‘A 3D Printed High-Dielectric Filled Elliptical Double-Ridged Horn Antenna for Biomedical Monitoring Applications.’ Seeking to make further impacts in the field of medical science, the team from Queen Mary University of London has 3D printed an innovative device for sensing applications with wireless technology—based on ultra-wideband devices initially created for short-range wireless communications.

The in-house measurement setup based on the open-ended coaxial probe technique, used for the characterization of the dielectric materials.

Created to work within UK Communications Industries (Ofcom) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation of UWBs, the new device has been found to offer depth suitable for penetration in scanning skin, muscle, and fat, with signals able to sense layer thicknesses. Wide-band technologies are often used for short-range communication due to:

Low power
High data rates
Multipath immunity
Simultaneous ranging and communication

While this type of antenna is not new, the use of 3D printing is novel. The double-ridged horn has been a topic of research over the years for researchers because of the benefits, leading to a more effective answer to refining accuracy in biomedical scanning. And while 3D printing can offer greater affordability in many cases, here the research team was concerned about cost-prohibitive fabrication, so they compared materials, ultimately settling on in-house 3D printing with ABS.

The shape of the horn allows for better operation overall, and the high dielectric material allows for a miniaturized design that also reduces reflection and is both easy and affordable to make. With an extension, the scientists were able to expand on the antenna and prevent signal-overlapping issues.

Modeled extended EDRH antenna with the structural labels and the dimensions for the extended section.

“The optimal approach is to extend the outer aperture of the antenna, and to define, the antenna outer aperture length, so the scanning tissue area can be placed in the far-field region,” stated the researchers. “This has added more complexity to the fabrication and realization of the device with the increased cost, but on the other hand, it has made it more stable in its operation, and free of any destructive interference signals and noise.”

The team used the Stratasys Objet30 Prime 3D printer for creating their prototype, finishing it with clear Vero polyethylene, stating that hardware and materials not only offered high resolution, accuracy, and conductivity, but also affordability in fabrication.

Measurements were found to be accurate also, as they addressed concerns regarding individual and other influences like scanning areas and layer structure but concluded that there should be very little variance between ‘permittivity and thickness.’ If an impact on the results was noted, the researchers explained that added calibration measures could be taken with an open-ended probe, with software producing the results.

(a) 3D-printed EDRH antenna using the polyethylene material. (b) 3D-printed EDRH antenna, as conductive-painted and fed with a semi-ridged SMA connector. (c) 3D-printed EDRH antenna filled with the high-dielectric mixture.

“This design incorporates the extension for locating the antenna in the far-field region of the scanning area, for the plane-waves to penetrate more directly into the body. Moreover, the antenna can operate at the lower frequency band of WB to exhibit a better penetration depth and impedance matching using the mixture for the biomedical application, which monitoring very deep inside the body is the main objective of the system,” concluded the researchers at the end of their study.

3D printing has offered much greater expansion opportunities for scientists and engineers interested in creating better devices for sensing and monitoring, from automotive sensors to electrochemical sensing, and 3D printed models for better monitoring.

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

[Source / Images: ‘A 3D Printed High-Dielectric Filled Elliptical Double-Ridged Horn Antenna for Biomedical Monitoring Applications’]

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Saimaa University of Applied Sciences thesis student, Daniil Levchenko, explores the capabilities of complex 3D printing in ‘Design of a Hydraulic Pump for Construction with Additive Manufacturing Tools.’ While was and is well aware of some of the more exaggerated claims often made regarding the magic of 3D printing, Levchenko dedicated his thesis to examining the potential for fabricating a hydraulics system.

Levchenko’s focus is on prosumers, a group of users operating at the more advanced level in AM processes. The initial step was to outline what would be required for the hydraulics unit, and then begin examining the options for materials. After that, the researchers would design the pump, create a 3D model, 3D print the parts, and hopefully, test it in a lab.

“The idea of this study takes its origins in an article dedicated to a project of a group of engineering students from the University of Rhode Island,” states the author. “They designed, constructed, and tested a stabilization platform that would allow them to negate turbulent sea conditions and to use a 3D printer on-board. As one of the students specified, the project was directed to aid work of research ships that were located far from shores and might be needed for timely replacement of any piece of equipment.”

Stratasys Object30 Prime (on the left) and BCN3D Sigma (on the right) (BCN3D Technologies 2019 & Stratasys Ltd. 2016)

The three-month study was made up of two different parts: theoretical, and then a discussion/conclusion. Testing was performed on a Stratasys Objet30 Prime and a BCN3D Sigma 3D printer, with thermoplastic polymers chosen as the material, and tested regarding how it would mix with oil.

Materials that are available for the 3D printers

There were many obstacles encountered during the study, and the hydraulic pump was not completed. While the CAD model of the external gear pump was designed, the project was brought to a halt indefinitely due to complexities with the motor and then lack of a successful PLC-based controller circuit. There were time constraints on the brief three-month project too, with the study finally ending when neither parts for the pump-motor assembly or construction of the piece were coming to fruition.

Proposed gear (driving)

And although there was not an actual product to show for the research, Levchenko still sees the system as promising for developing areas where devices can be created on-site and on-demand; in fact, such pumps could offer critical services in rural or isolated geographies, especially with an accessible, mobile 3D printer that could fabricate affordable parts for wells and other machinery like hydraulic levers.

“The results of the theoretical study could have been implemented in a real-life model build with printers provided by the university. To the greatest regrets of the author, the conditions of the available machines required maintenance and they could not be used for concurrent construction. It should be possible to recreate the designed pump and test in laboratory conditions to acquire actual empirical data about its performance and reliability and to the overall applicability. It would also prove the viability of the concept,” concluded Levchenko.

“Another field to enlarge and improve this study could be the widening of the spectrum of the assessed materials and manufacturing techniques. An assumption of the author is that consideration and usage of selective laser sintering technique may greatly aid design freedom and the final properties of the pump. The technique is capable of creating geometries with good tolerances and surface tolerances.”

3D printing has been used in the design and fabrication of many different parts and systems to aid in helping developing countries and individuals in isolated areas, from the creating of manifolds to other hydraulic development and customized robotics. What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

A scheme of PolyJet printing process (The Technology House/Sea Air Space 2019)

[Source / Image: ‘Design of a Hydraulic Pump for Construction with Additive Manufacturing Tools’]

The post Additive Manufacturing Could Prove Promising in Development of Hydraulic Pumps appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.