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12-10-2014, 12:10 PM #1
Just How Strong is 3D Printed Aluminum? One Man Finds Out!
Dahlon P Lyles is a Purdue University research assistant and lab technician, and an associate engineer at 3rd Dimension Industrial 3D printing. He has created a lattice structure -- 3D printed using an aluminum alloy -- that can support more than 100,000 times its own weight. The 3.9g lattice cube, just 24mm on a side, can support distributed loads of over 400kg before succumbing to the pressure. The lattice structure was designed using SolidWorks and created via a 3D Systems ProX 200 3D printer. Check out more details on this lightweight, heavy load-bearing proof of concept in the full article: http://3dprint.com/29958/3d-printed-aluminum-lattice/
Below is a photo of the tiny cube supporting a full grown man's weight:
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12-11-2014, 07:08 AM #2
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- Oct 2014
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- 94
Curious if they actually annealed this before testing, I would think it would produce an even stronger lattice.
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12-12-2014, 03:23 PM #3
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- Dec 2014
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- 6
When I look at that lattice, I see an amazing heat sink. I'm not sure that it's the ideal aluminum alloy but the convection possibilities seem incredible.
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12-15-2014, 05:55 AM #4
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- Dec 2014
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- 1
A cylinder would be 1.9 grams
Hi, I don't see why this structure is so efficient at carrying the given axial load.
The material has an ultimate tensile strength of 130 MPa = 130 N per mm2. (low estimate, could be more like 180)
The section to support 4000 newtons is 4000/130 = 30 mm2.
Note, the height is 24 mm. 30 mm2 distributed on 24 mm height is a good slenderness ratio, I don't think it will be subject to buckling. So, we can assume full strength in compression.
And the weight of that little cylinder will be 24 mm x 30 mm2 x 0.00266 g/mm3 (density of aluminum alloy) = 1.9 grams
So the cylinder carries 2x more weight in proportion to its own weight. The supposedly super efficient structure is 50% as efficient as a simple tube...
Why has nobody thought of taking a short piece of aluminum tube, cutting it to the right length, and testing it?
Let's get this clear: I am a big fan of latttices, they have many tremendous applications.
But I think that the person posting here has not made any effort to figure out whether this lattice in particular is being efficient at carrying this axial load.
Holes and pockmarks in print walls
06-04-2024, 09:14 AM in General 3D Printing Discussion