Collaborate Disseminate
From the looks of the average driveway or sidewalk, it may seem as though concrete is just destined to crack. But if concrete is so prone to cracking, how are we able to use it in so many high-stress applications like bridges and skyscrapers? This question came about while I …read more
If you’re serious about engineering the things you build, you need to know the limits of the materials you’re working with. One of important way to characterize materials is to test the tensile strength — how much force it takes to pull a sample to the breaking point. Thankfully, with …read more
Continue reading Tensile Testing Machine Takes 3D Printed Parts to the Breaking Point
How do you choose filament when you want strong 3D-printed parts? Like most of us, you probably take a guess, or just use what you have on hand and hope for the best. But armed with a little knowledge on strength of materials, you might be able to make a more educated assessment.
To help you further your armchair mechanical engineer ambitions, [Stefan] has thoughtfully put together this video of tests he conducted to determine the stiffness of common 3D-printing plastics. He’s quick to point out that strength and stiffness are not the same thing, and that stiffness might be …read more
Continue reading Measuring The Stiffness Of 3D-Printed Parts
Non-planar layer Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is any form of fused deposition modeling where the 3D printed layers aren’t flat or of uniform thickness. For example, if you’re using mesh bed leveling on your 3D printer, you are already using non-planar layer FDM. But why stop at compensating for curved build plates? Non-planar layer FDM has more applications and there are quite a few projects out there exploring the possibilities. In this article, we are going to have a look at what the trick yields for us.
Non-planar-layer FDM allows for smooth, curved surfaces, which otherwise would …read more
