This project is concerned with 3D printing (also known as additive fabrication). The advancement of technology in this area has been identified as a nationwide priority; in particular, 3D printing is a major focus of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), and it is the primary focus of NNMI's flagship institute, America Makes. A distinguishing feature of 3D printing is that geometrically complex structures are almost as easy to make as geometrically simple ones. In this project the investigators study how to take advantage of this capability. Led by a highly interdisciplinary team (a mathematician, a computer scientist, and two biomaterials experts), the project explores the use of 3D printing to make structured artificial materials with advantageous physical properties, and develops methods for adapting the microstructure of a manufactured object to its macroscopic shape and function. Students and postdoctoral researchers are trained in the course of the project.
This project draws on recent mathematical advances concerning the effective properties of heterogeneous media; it draws on recent computational advances concerning the representation, design, and simulation of geometrically complex structures; and it draws on recent advances in biomechanics, where the design and manufacture of bone scaffolds has been a major driver of research activity. The challenges associated with 3D printing drive further development in all these areas. For example: (1) past work on structural optimization has mainly considered linear models of material response, whereas plasticity, brittle failure, and buckling may be important for structures made by 3D printing; (2) past work on optimal microstructures has focused mainly on mechanical or physical properties such as the effective Hooke's law; for some applications, non-mechanical characteristics such as porosity are also very important; (3) past work on structural optimization has suggested that hierarchical structures such as "sequential laminates" may be useful, but they were previously considered to be not manufacturable; with 3D printing, the manufacture of such hierarchical structures seems within reach. The project supports students and postdoctoral researchers, who gain a unique multidisciplinary experience through their involvement in this effort.
