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Purpose This paper aims to study the mass loss of three-dimensional (3D) printed materials at high temperatures. A preconcentration and analysis technique, static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SHS-GC-MS), is demonstrated for the analysis of volatile compounds liberated from fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA) 3D printed models under elevated temperatures. Design/methodology/approach A total of seven commercial 3D printing materials were tested using the SHS-GC-MS approach. The printed model mass and mass loss were examined as a function of FDM printing parameters including printcore temperature, model size and printing speed, and the use of SLA postprocessing procedures. A high temperature resin was used to demonstrate that thermal degradation products can be identified when the model is incubated under high temperatures. Findings At higher printing temperatures and larger model sizes, the initial printed model mass increased and showed more significant mass loss after thermal incubation for FDM models. For models produced by SLA, the implementation of a postprocessing procedure reduced the mass loss at elevated temperatures. All FDM models showed severe structural deformation when exposed to high temperatures, while SLA models remained structurally intact. Mass spectra and chromatographic retention times acquired from the high temperature resin facilitated identification of eight compounds (monomers, crosslinkers and several photoinitiators) liberated from the resin. Originality/value The study exploits the high sensitivity of SHS-GC-MS to identify thermal degradation products emitted from 3D printed models under elevated temperatures. The results will aid in choosing appropriate filament/resin materials and printing mechanisms for applications that require elevated temperatures.
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The Effect of Orientation on the Readability and Comfort of 3D-Printed Braille
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a low-cost method of 3D printing that involves stacking horizontal layers of plastic. FDM is used to produce tactile graphics and interfaces for people with visual impairments. Unfortunately, the print orientation can alter the structure and quality of braille and text. The difference between printing braille vertically and horizontally has been documented. However, we found no comprehensive study of these angles or the angles in between, nor any study providing a quantitative and qualitative user evaluation. We conducted two mixed-methods studies to evaluate the performance of braille printed at different angles. We measured reading time and subjective preference and performed a thematic analysis of participants' responses. Our participants were faster using and preferred 75° and vertical braille over horizontal braille. These results provide makers with guidelines for creating models with readable 3D-printed braille.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2145382
- PAR ID:
- 10513366
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 9798400703300
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 15
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Honolulu HI USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642719
