Peter, William H | Engineering Papers

DOE OSTI2015

Freeform fluidics

A robotic, prosthetic or orthotic member includes a body formed of a solidified metallic powder. At least one working fluid cylinder is formed in the body. A piston is provided in the working fluid cylinder for pressurizing a fluid in the cylinder. At least one working fluid conduit receives the pressurized fluid from the cylinder. The body, working fluid cylinder and working fluid conduit have a unitary construction. A method of making a robotic member is also disclosed.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2015

Breaking Barriers in Polymer Additive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing (AM) enables the creation of complex structures directly from a computer-aided design (CAD). There are limitations that prevent the technology from realizing its full potential. AM has been criticized for being slow and expensive with limited build size. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed a large scale AM system that improves upon each of these areas by more than an order of magnitude. The Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system directly converts low cost pellets into a large, three-dimensional part at a rate exceeding 25 kg/h. By breaking these traditional barriers, it is possible for polymer AM to penetrate new manufacturing markets.

additive manufacturing↗