Reference no: EM132888411

There are many material and processing parameters which can directly impact the quality of a polymer product. This part of assessment 1 displays how much you have learnt about the processing polymers and how 3D printing and injection moulding differs and how this can influence the properties of a product.

You will need to think about and do some research/reading on polymer behaviour, 3D printing and injection moulding to answer the following questions

Studio tasks
In the following questions you are asked to use theory from the classes (and literature if needed) to prepare theory-based answers to the following questions. You can use diagrams to assist with your answers if you like.

Week 1

1. Identify the key steps in the 3D FDM printing process explaining how printing direction, printing speed, fill are important and influence the integrity of print as well as the print time.

2. Why is nozzle temperature and print bed temperature important when FDM printing? What happens if they are set incorrectly?

3. Why does shrinkage occur in 3D FDM printing? Explain 2 approaches to reduce shrinkage for a given component geometry

Week 2
i. What are the main parameters that influence the flow of a polymer in an extrusion process? Explain this for 3D FDM printing as well as injection moulding and discuss similarities and differences.

Week 3

1. From the testing conducted on the Instron, for each loading type, answer the following questions and briefly explain why, based on the results:
a) What specimen was the strongest?
b) What specimen was the stiffest?
c) What specimen was the toughest?
d) What specimen was the most brittle?

2. Discuss how geometry, material and/or processing was the main or contributing factor leading to the above results.