Additive Manufacturing - from Fundamentals to Applications

  • A. Stern Department of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, 69107, Israel & Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8980-9214
  • Y. Rosenthal Department of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, 69107, Israel
  • A. Berger Department of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, 69107, Israel
  • D. Ashkenazi School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5871-1903
Keywords: additive manufacturing, 3D printing, FDM, ABS, devices for disabled people, engineering education

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) continues to increase in popularity and is used in many industrial applications. The purpose of this study is to present our approach to teaching AM at the graduate level in the form of a 14-week course developed in 2015 and taught currently at the Afeka Academic College of Engineering (Tel Aviv, Israel), and review three study cases of student projects designed, printed and presented during the course. The projects were designed in order to solve medical problems and help disabled people. The first project was to develop a bottle opener for people with arthritis; the second was to build a door opener device to assist people with Parkinson’s disease; and the third was to develop a personal connector bracket device for the Dobbs clubfoot bar, to help infants and kids with a clubfoot birth defect. All projects were designed with a CAD program and the prototype was printed with ABS material. The learning procedure included two iteration process steps that were performed in order to optimize the structural design, including considerations of mechanical properties and a 3D printing building strategy. Based on the students’ presentations and their personal opinions, the projects served as useful learning experience in their engineering education. Our experience from teaching the course (starting in 2015), and the impressive outcomes achieved by the student projects demonstrate the innovative potential of AM. It is worth mentioning that AM education, while rooted in mechanical engineering, is truly multidisciplinary, and education programs must embrace this context.

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Published
2017-12-15
How to Cite
Issue
Vol 28 (2017)
Section
Articles

Papers accepted for publication become the copyrighted property of the Annals of "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Fascicle XII, Welding Equipment and Technology. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, except in limited quantities for the non-commercial purposes of scientific or educational advancement, without permission in writing from the Editorial Board.