Stainless Steel Additive Layer Demonstration Piece

[grantgibson45]

All,

I work for Rolls-Royce Plc in the UK and have been put in charge of additive layer manufacturing educational outreach activities for an upcoming science show. I'm a STEM ambassador who dedicates around 300 hours a year to inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists. I have a keen personal interest in 3D printing and own a Da Vinci Xyz for all its sins. I have been given access to a Renishaw EOS metal sintering machine and some stainless steel powder but I'm really keen to find out what the best example of additive layer manufacturing you guys can come up with. I'm looking for a wow factor other than the standard ball inside a cage which is good don't get me wrong but as I will be talking to members of the public, a nice model showing all the benefits and even downfalls of additive layer manufacturing would be brilliant. If anyone would like to work with me on this (I need the model to be open source/non copyright) then I would be glad of the help. Either contact me on here or alternatively you can email me directly at Grant.gibson@rolls-royce.com

Regards

Grant

[curious aardvark]

you based in derby ?
And what's a stem ambassador ?

(has quick look at renishaw website) so you can pretty much ignore overhangs and underhangs and just print what the hell you like. Nice !

So you actually want a design that can't be made in a conventional manner.
Hmm, I'll have a think :-)

[grantgibson45]

you based in derby ?
And what's a stem ambassador ?

(has quick look at renishaw website) so you can pretty much ignore overhangs and underhangs and just print what the hell you like. Nice !

So you actually want a design that can't be made in a conventional manner.
Hmm, I'll have a think :-)

Yes I'm in Derby, the issue is the university are printing the part for me but we are trying to minimise technician time. I know that I could print lots of things but I'm trying to see if there is a nice stl or cad file in existence that demonstrates all the features of additive layer. I could design the usual stuff but then I'm no expert.

Regards
Grant

P. S. A STEM ambassador is someone who goes into schools and promotes science technology engineering and maths. The role is voluntary as part of your day job and it also includes running hands on science / engineering activities

[Marm]

You could go with the "standard" herringbone gear design, but add some gearing to the interior shaft that are inlaid and overhung some, so there's no practical way for it to be produced in a reductive or casting method. Don't think there would be a practical application for this, as you couldn't get a usable piece to fit inside. Not sure of the WOW factor for the average person, as they wouldn't understand the complexities of the design.

Another idea would be an orbital gear, fully encased, made in one piece, then have another that is still functional but cutaway with a clear cover on it so people could see the intricate structure that was a single build.

And the Da Vinci, even with all it's sins, isn't that bad for me, been a work horse so far.

[Mjolinor]

Could you make the NASA space wrench. As the first real, useful, object manufactured off planet, it has to be popular.

[bford903]

What about something with a microlattice structure? Demonstrate that 3D-printing can be used to make existing things stronger and lighter.

I typed "lattice" into Thingiverse and got lots of models to choose from.

[curious aardvark]

actually the wrench is a good option.
It's pretty small and can demonstrate how complex tools can be made in one piece.
That said - how do you get the excess metal powder out ?

You have to bear in mind that this process has it's own limitations.
basically you end up with a solid block of metal powder with the printed object inside it. So there are no actual voids.
If you print something like the wrench you'd need to make holes in the sides for the un-sintered metal powder to be extracted from.

Should be doable.

So while you don't need to worry about overhangs or underhangs, you still need to allow for the fact that you can't make something totally enclosed. There has to be allowance for removal of unsintered powder.

I'm near burton grant. If you fancy getting together for a brainstorm, that could be fun :-)