Grants and Contributions:

Title:

Three-dimensional printing of metallic structures through advanced fused deposition modeling (FDM) of metallic fillers-reinforced polymer granules

Agreement Number:

EGP

Agreement Value:

$25,000.00

Agreement Date:

Sep 20, 2017 -

Organization:

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Location:

Quebec, CA

Reference Number:

GC-2017-Q2-04346

Agreement Type:

Grant

Report Type:

Grants and Contributions

Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Recipient's Legal Name:

Therriault, Daniel (École Polytechnique de Montréal)

Program:

Engage Grants for Universities

Program Purpose:

Metallic structures fabricated by 3D printing may find widespread applications in medical, microwave andx000D
MEMS fields. Commonly-used metal 3D printing techniques such as selective laser sintering is limited by theirx000D
high processing temperatures, high cost and relatively slow processing time. The popular fused depositionx000D
modeling (FDM) technique, which mainly utilizes thermoplastics as feedstock materials, is also of greatx000D
interest to be adapted for metals. Dyze Design, a company located in Montreal that is actively working in thex000D
area of fabricating high speed, economized accessories for FDM 3D printers has expressed its great interest forx000D
collaboration with LM2 for the development of new materials compatible with the FDM technique. During ax000D
six-month project, a postdoctoral fellow (PDF) will work in close collaboration with the company tox000D
investigate the possibility of adapting metallic micro-particles to the FDM technique for the fabrication ofx000D
highly dense metallic structures in a fast and low-cost process. The specific objectives will be to (1) fabricatex000D
granules of various metallic particles mixed with a polymer binder using the solvent-cast printing methodx000D
which LM2 has a lot of experience, (2) test the compatibility of the developed materials with a FDM print headx000D
designed by the company, (3) compare performance of the different mixtures in terms of their rheologicalx000D
behavior, fillers concentrations, and mechanical properties (e.g., tension) of the final sintered part, and (4)x000D
provide utilization guidelines to the industrial partner and test the materials at the industrial scale. Duringx000D
bi-monthly meetings between the company and the LM2, the progress of the project will be discussed. Thex000D
outcomes of this project will certainly contribute to the development of a new product by Dyze Design and helpx000D
the company to enter the market of metallic 3D printing. This project will also help the two collaborators tox000D
define more innovative research projects in the future.