All current additive manufacturing processes used for silicones produce elastomers from viscous precursors which react in situ. However, the strength of elastomers which can be produced via standard inkjet is severely limited by two main factors. Long polymer chains are required for good elastomers, which means viscous reagents beyond the operating range of IJP. Additionally, silicone elastomers are intrinsically weak compared to organic rubbers, and reinforcing fillers are employed in industry; a strategy towards good particle loading in inkjet is therefore of interest. Silicone resins are strong without the need for high viscosity reagents, and are relatively unexplored within inkjet. Fluorescent nanoparticles require low loading for functionality and complement the optical clarity of silicones. This project aims to print quantum dots in silicone matrices via reactive inkjet, exploring MDTQ composition for polymer properties and suitable solvent systems to aid dispersion. These nanocomposites would be developed for application in sensors or electronic displays.

Working in partnership with Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery, the research is based upon the development of nickel alloys for use in high temperature and high performance environments, specifically for industrial gas turbines. Nickel alloys with a high percentage of aluminium and titanium are susceptible to cracking if the thermal profile during manufacture is not carefully controlled. This is a particular problem for the selective laser melting (SLM) process due to the very high cooling rates involved during material deposition. Hence, careful consideration of the process steps and how the thermal profile will affect the material in question is required. Commercially available machines have little room for flexibility in this regard and so alternative techniques such as altering the laser scan strategy are necessary to enable manufacture in these high performance alloys. Once the processing steps have been optimised and verified, more complex geometrical parts can be designed and tested. Lattice structures, particularly for thermal transfer, have been discussed for further work.

Due to the large design freedom offered by additive manufacture (AM), conventional metrology systems are being challenged.  X-ray computed tomography (XCT) has been identified as a potential metrological system, which allows the measurement of a part’s geometrical conformity, while also analysing some aspects of the parts material, such as porosity and inclusions. A special focus of this project is the measurement of internal geometries, as these geometries are feasible using AM. This project aims to use information-rich metrology approaches to improve the XCT process. The area of research currently explores the measurement chain of XCT, to identify the possible stages where information-rich metrology can improve the performance of the system or of the software.

This project is part of the CDT in additive manufacture and 3D printing, and it is sponsored by Nikon Metrology.

This project aims to use colloidal processing and additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as inkjet printing and binder jetting to develop the routes to controlled-density and fully dense advanced ceramic parts. The project will also evaluate the use of laser sintering to further the understanding of its use on advanced ceramic materials. By firstly developing the processing routes and then exploiting the materials they yield so as to better understand the potential engineering application, the project aims to make advanced ceramic materials much more accessible in the AM world. Using alumina as the starting point, the project will develop the techniques and explore the equipment and characterisation required to deliver material for testing. AM of non-oxide ceramics will also be investigated as the project develops a broader understanding of the processing techniques most applicable to each type of ceramic material.

Methods will be developed to measure the surface topography of additive manufactured parts. Commercial measurement techniques will be used such as stylus profilometer, focus variation, confocal microscopy, interferometry and electron microscopy among others. This is to assess the appropriate measurement spatial bandwidths to be used, and appropriate parameters to control manufacturing or correlate to function. A number of industrial case studies will be investigated to formulate ways to control the surfaces during manufacture and finishing.

Using synthetic techniques to modify the structure of currently available biocompatible polymers to enhance the surface characteristics for cellular adhesion. Current focus is the synthesis of PCl- collagen hybridised material, performing analytical groundwork (physicochemical, mechanical and cell work) and developing a methodology to take the materials from ground state to a filament that can be extruded into a scaffold for bone tissue regrowth.
Other targets of interest are PHBV-Collagen hybrids that have shown promise as replacements for tendon tissue. Similar to the PCl-Collagen work, a synthetic route will be established and a considerable amount of analytical work will be performed to establish the viability of the material in animal/medical trials.

Microfluidic technology has afresh attracted research community interest due to simplified fabrication technique via additive manufacturing (AM), which became more accessible to a wider range of research disciplines. However, advanced material requirements that most microfluidic devices impose and issues related to the nature of AM processes constitute a considerable challenge in an attempt to widely employ AM for microfluidic devices. This project attempts to study the performance of different polymer based additive and conventional manufacturing techniques in microfluidic cartridges fabrication. 

Building experiments will be exclusively focused on on-chip nucleic acid amplification microfluidic chips with embedded fluoresence detection function. Chosen materials can be categorized in thermoplastic and thermosetting materials with enhanced functional properties for thermal stability, transparency and biocompatibility in terms of microfluidic DNA amplification and fluorescence detection. Testing parts will be produced to evaluate achievable accuracy and building time of each process, while surface modification techniques will be investigated. Aim of this project is to build a low-cost, disposable, functional microfluidic chip for nucleic acid amplification and optical detection function, exploiting design freedom of AM systems, while maintaining desired requirements.

The general aim of this PhD project is to make bioactive composites for osteochondral implants. This is quite a broad aim and requires some particular subjects to be addressed, developed and optimised. A number of additive manufacturing techniques will be exploited throughout the project to determine the best method of acquiring the required scaffolds and to incorporate biomaterials and cells together to develop the osteochondral implant. The scaffold material will be developed significantly throughout the project to ensure optimum conditions for cell growth and development. Mechanical testing and in-vivo testing of materials and printed scaffold will be performed throughout the project.  Many new skills will be acquired and developed which will aid successfully fulfilling the overall aim. 

The goal of this project is to create a 3D printer that will serve as laboratory equipment for exploring micron and sub-micron systems. Such a machine can benefit researchers by offering an accurate and affordable way to reproduce theoretical models. Electronics has brought a revolution to human technology and its limits continue to be explored. While trying to exploit the already observed quantum phenomena, such as particle-wave duality, entanglement, etc., reproducing complicated three-dimensional features is crucial. The obvious advantage that 3D printers can provide is further underlined by the relatively low cost for manufacturing individual items. Research-tailored 3D printers can serve teaching purposes, as students usually need to break their equipment to understand how it works. Another desired output of the project is the ability to restore damaged RLC-circuits in teaching laboratories. The question therefore is how to utilise AM in research facilities without shifting their focus to manufacturing.

At Loughborough University, research in the field of next generation prosthetics and the additive manufacturability of these devices is being conducted. One of the objectives of this work is to establish an interface between the human body and the prosthetic device. This essentially aims to connect the prosthetic device to the wearer’s nervous system, which will provide both signals from and to the wearer. This will improve the wearer’s control of the prostheses since the device would be thought controlled, like a natural limb. Furthermore, this project will be focusing on the bridging from a residual nerve to the electrode/prosthetic interface. To do this, the neurons need to be guided and directed effectively towards a surface. This project will first focus on conditions required to direct neuronal growth and subsequently to adapt current AM systems to successfully manufacture the neural guide.

The project will start once the powder recirculation rig is finished at Renishaw Stone facilities and shipped to the University of Liverpool. The rig will need some structural aluminium profile reconfiguration in order to be shipped and located at its final destination. Previous to the initial test on the rig at Liverpool, I will be trained on the PLC software to be the person operating the machine. After the installation of the machine at Liverpool, some initial recirculation test will be run, until the machine is perfectly set up. Later, a long period will be used for the design and implementation of an ALD chamber in the powder recirculation rig. At this stage, various chamber configurations will be tested for optimising the process. Finally, some ALD thin film coating on Al alloys will be tested on the rig and the results will be characterised.

Unlike knee and hip arthroplasty, transfemoral implants have received limited attention, yet patients requiring such surgery continue to swell. This is primarily due to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis becoming prolific amongst ageing and growing populations. Prominent complaints of such trauma include residual limb pain and extensive skin breakdown caused by appositional bone growth. In order to alleviate pain presently, osseous tissue must be mechanically removed (filed) which requires additional surgery, money and can lead to infection. It is therefore proposed to design and manufacture an implant which is able to be surgically integrated into the patient, reducing pressure and minimising appositional bone growth. 3D Printing and AM technologies could offer the potential to manufacture advanced, designer implants that are able to provide a better quality of life.

Traditional engineering techniques, such as material characterisation, numerical analysis and manufacturing will be combined with social factors in a medical setting to improve prosthetic design and production by 3D additive manufacturing. The project goals will incorporate:

• Developing biocompatible materials and macrolevel prosthetic structures based on known anisotropic, hyper-elastic and viscoelastic biomechanical properties of skin. Therefore optimising (a) interfacing with the patients natural features, (b) tactility, (c) deformation under normal physiological conditions; and consequently, the prosthetics biomechanical mimicking abilities

• 3DMD camera systems (IPHS) will be used to obtain colour-calibrated high-resolution 3D facial images and 3D numerical models which will be used numerically assess the effect of material and structural variation against suitability criteria

• Materials need to be measured, and their colour optimised, to match human skin tones and refractive properties based on the existing multiethnicity skin tone database

• Tolerance limits for the prosthetics acceptability will be established using standard appearance metrics and end-user based qualitative evaluation

The goal of this project is to create a 3D printer that will serve as laboratory equipment for exploring micron and sub-micron systems. Such a machine can benefit researchers by offering an accurate and affordable way to reproduce theoretical models. Electronics has brought a revolution to human technology and its limits continue to be explored. While trying to exploit the already observed quantum phenomena, such as particle-wave duality, entanglement, etc., reproducing complicated three-dimensional features is crucial. The obvious advantage that 3D printers can provide is further underlined by the relatively low cost for manufacturing individual items. Research-tailored 3D printers can serve teaching purposes, as students usually need to break their equipment to understand how it works. Another desired output of the project is the ability to restore damaged RLC-circuits in teaching laboratories. The question therefore is how to utilise AM in research facilities without shifting their focus to manufacturing.

The main goal of my PhD project is to optimise the printing and processing of Apatite-Wollastonite/Maltodextrin (AW/MD) powder blend scaffolds. A primary approach to the project was studying the influence of moisture on Maltodextrin powders in the first year’s individual project, alongside the study of thermal properties of this material under different environments. This study continues further on, with the study of particle size and shape influence on packing and part density of the AW/MD printed parts, before and after sintering. New powder formulations will be worked out to optimise the powder for bioapplications and AM. In a further stage, the produced scaffolds containing the optimised material will be tested in vitro as a platform for bone tissue regeneration. A study on a new method to process GTS’s AW powders, in order to make them commercial for AM purposes, completes my project goals.