Experimenting with Laser Cutters & Rapid Prototypers Dr. Jim Flowers Technology Education Program Ball State University

Rapid Prototyping Technology can Help your students make professional-quality products without all those skills Make a link between digital designs and physical objects Allow students to make successive changes to designs, and then see the effects of those changes Produce parts needed for larger assemblies

Ball State’s Rapid Prototyping Lab Technologies Include

3D Laser Scanning

Laser Cutting & Engraving

CAD/CAM Milling

Computer Numerical Control Turning (NC Lathe)

Fused Deposition Modeling

Color Solid Object Printing

Other Technologies in the RP Lab Tensile tester Coordinate measuring machine Plastics granulator, drier, and filament extruders Plastometers Vacuum formers Manual fabrication tools

But RP technologies can also support student experimentation. They allow the user to control several variables and perform repeated builds changing only the levels of independent variables. There is so much we really don’t know, and experimentation can help us find the answers.

For example: Optimizing Laser Settings Power Speed Focal Point Pulses per inch Lines per inch

An Experimental Approach to… Everything Orr, T., & Flowers, J. (2014). An experimental approach to… everything! Technology & Engineering Teacher, 73(8), 8-12.

Determining the effect of FDM build orientation on tensile strength (T. Orr)

Hey Jim, can you 3D print onto cloth? (Rene Church) Kyle Samuels, a student in a graduate course on Inquiries into Rapid Prototyping, at Ball State found out. Samuels, K., & Flowers, J. (In Press). Can your students 3D print onto cloth? Technology and Engineering Teacher.

Successful build test at material’s surface Failed attempt on 100% cotton with a simple weave Post wash test Denim adhesion strength test

Can we make 3D printer filament? Raises the questions: Orr, T., & Flowers, J. (In Press). Learning through plastic filament extrusion. Technology and Engineering Teacher.

Can we granulate this plastic?

Does it have to be dried?

Is it extrudable? What is its melt index?

Should we use a low-cost extruder?

or an industrial extruder?

Should we use a water bath?

What should the extrusion temperatures and speed be?

What should the tension (RPM) be?

What new 3D printing parameters will work with our extruded filament?

Can you use RP to create Flexographic Image Carriers? Dr. Renmei Xu Flowers, J., & Xu, R. (April, 2011). Exploring a connection: Prototyping graphic image carriers. Technology and Engineering Teacher e, 70(7), 1-6. Xu, R. & Flowers, J. C. (2009). Flexographic platemaking using rapid prototyping technologies. FlexoGlobal, 2 (1),

Flexo- Image Carriers from Powdered Solid Object Printing?

Flexo- Image Carriers from FDM?

Flexo- Image Carriers from Laser Engraving?

Can you laser-etch an intaglio plate? Xu, R., Londt, S., & Flowers, J. (2013). The effects of laser-engraving settings on cliché etch depth and pad printing quality. Journal of Print and Media Technology Research, 2(1),

Can you laser- etch an intaglio plate?

Can you laser-etch an intaglio plate? Yes, but what are the effects of laser-engraving settings on cliché etch depth and pad printing quality?

Can lasers be used to create stencils? Xu, R., Londt, S. C., Kellogg, H. P. (2010). Evaluation of different stencilmaking methods for screen printing (pp ). Sewickley, PA: Proceedings of TAGA 62nd Annual Technical Conference.

Can lasers be used to create stencils? Yes, but what is the effect of…

Can you Upcycle with a laser? Xu, R., Flowers, J. (2011). Engineering a greener process: Laser cutter transforms printing waste. Tech Directions, 71(2),

Can you Upcycle with a laser?

Advertisement New undergrad and grad class at Ball State: Green Prototyping & Upcycling, where students –Upcycle with laser cutters/engravers –Upcycle with a vacuum former –Design, prototype, and test products to promote environmental sustainability –Attempt to extrude their own 3D filament from post- consumer resins and 3D print with it May be used as an elective in our Master of Arts in Technology Education

Assisting others in their research: Kevin Barnes & Kamal Islam Scanned warbler model 3D printed 10 decoys Decoys were painted and added to buckets playing songs to attract cerulean warblers to nest. Kevin Barns, 2014, Master of Science Thesis Project: Cerulean Warbler Habitat Selections: Behavioral or Structural. Kamal Islam, PhD, Advisor. Photos of Kevin and Kamal courtesy of Kamal Islam at

So many experiments! Optimizing parameters Effects of parameters on products Properties based on build orientation Finding the limits of the technology Designing new 3D printer filament Adding inserts during 3D printing Adhesion, finishing, etc., of 3D printed parts Testing out new processes and many, many more…

Another presentation: Intersecting Silhouettes Today, at the STEM Showcase

Experimenting with Laser Cutters & Rapid Prototypers Dr. Jim Flowers Technology Education Program Ball State University