Toward functional magnetic applications for multi-material inkjet 3D printing

The bounds of the design space for 3D-printed objects continue to rapidly extend as the library of printable materials continues to grow. This thesis explores printed objects uniquely enabled by the addition of a magnetic ink to the existing repertoire of materials for the MultiFab printer, a high-resolution, multi-material inkjet 3D printer. Magnetic nanoparticles, a base ink, and a dispersion method are selected to develop the magnetic ink. The ink is optimized for maximal magnetic content and its magnetic properties are characterized. A 9.7 ± 0.8 wt% magnetite ink with expected stability exceeding 10 days is achieved. Design, characterization, and validation of two small-scale multi-material actuators driven by magnetism is performed. The first actuator is a simple fixed cantilever, while the second is a tilting panel. More advanced structures and actuators are explored and are suggestive of an extremely wide scope for potential future applications. The fields of application shown for 3D-printable magnetic ink in a multi-material context range from biomimicry (e.g. stimuli-responsive surfaces) to optics and aerodynamics.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Van den Heuvel, Louise E

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Wojciech Matusik.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/110883

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/110883