The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida uses a metal 3D printer to make parts. This printer uses a laser to fuse metal powder together to form desired shapes. This leaves some unfused metal powder trapped inside cavities in the part. Any remaining powder is waste because of contamination after the part is taken out of the printer. The lab is tasking us with creating a device to help remove the unfused powder from the part. This recovered powder should be captured and stored for reuse.
Knowing how to best handle metal powder is key to this project’s success. The metal powder at AFRL has individual pieces that are about 10 times smaller than the thickness of a standard piece of paper. The powder particles easily catch on the surface and corners of the printed part. The powder must always be isolated because of safety concerns. Airborne powder can catch on fire and is dangerous to inhale.
Our system vibrates the part upside-down to remove powder. This powder falls and is funneled into a storage container. To account for the dangers of small metal powder, our vibrating system is placed inside a sand blasting cabinet. These cabinets already meet AFRL’s safety standards. The designed system proves to be effective in recovering additional powder.
The design selected for the project can be seen in the image to the right. The system holds the plate with a printed part on it (as seen in green) and suspends this plate upside down. The plate with the part attached is then secured to a plate in our design. The top side of this plate has a pneumatic vibrator (as seen in red) attached. This vibrates the plate and part, removing powder from the system and allowing it to fall downwards.
Our system is intended for use inside of a sandblasting cabinet, so all powder removed from the system will be recovered at the bottom of the sandblasting cabinet by having the powder fall into a storage container. Along with the pneumatic vibrator, there are dampeners attached to the top side of the plate. These are used to prevent the vibrations induced by the pneumatic vibrator from disturbing the frame of the project or the surrounding cabinet.
Submission - 13 April, 2020
Presentation - 4:05pm, 16 April, 2020 @ Zoom
23 April, 2020 @ Zoom
Joshua Dorfman is a senior Mechanical Engineering major at Florida State University. He is long standing member of Theta Tau, a professional engineering organization at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and is currently pursuing a focus in material sciences. His desire to expand his knowledge in the field is only matched by his drive to succeed in the engineering workplace.
Vincent Giannetti is a senior in Mechanical Engineering, having enrolled at FSU in 2016 after graduating high school with his Associate’s Degree. He has performed research on the subject of 3D printing fluid flow at Texas A&M University, and has also interned at L3 Communications. Vincent is also involved in the College of Engineering's student chapter of ASME as their Project Manager. These experiences have fuelled Vincent's desire to learn in fields such as additive manufacturing, dynamic systems, and control systems. He is open to any and all challenges, and looks forward to a future career in engineering.
Arlan Ohrt is a motivated senior in Mechanical Engineering, having enrolled at FSU after graduating high school with his Associate's Degree. Arlan gained defense industry experience from modeling weapon target interaction using holograms for the Air Force Research Lab. He also worked for that National High Magnetic Field Laboratory producing and classifying bulk superconducting materials through powder metallurgy. During his undergraduate studies, he cultivated an interest in project management and leadership. He hopes to continue refining these skills with the company he joins after graduation.
Kevin Richter is a senior in Mechanical Engineering with a strong interest in manufacturing technologies, especially in additive and hybrid manufacturing methods. Kevin is a member of both SAE and ASME, and is dedicated to continued education after graduation.
Noah Tipton is a senior in Mechanical Engineering, having enrolled in 2015. Noah has gained experience in designing and prototyping medical devices during the two summers he spent working at AdventHealth Orlando. During the school year he is a Teaching Assistant for a Statics class in the Mechanical Engineering curriculum. Throughout his undergraduate studies, he found his passion for using his Mechanical Engineering background in the medical device field. He looks forward to a Clinical Research Internship with Mayo Clinic in the summer of 2020 and aims to find a career in the medical device field.
Noah Tipton | nrt15@my.fsu.edu
Vincent Giannetti | vjg15b@my.fsu.edu
Kevin Richter | kr15@my.fsu.edu
Joshua Dorfman | jd16s@my.fsu.edu
Arlan Ohrt | ago16b@my.fsu.edu