3D printing

Organic Robotics Laboratory The Organic Robotics Laboratory led by Dr. Shepherd at Cornell University is an interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineers, materials scientists, and chemists. We are creating new breed of soft robots that mimic the capabilities of living organisms. By using soft materials such as elastomers and hydrogels we can create new modes of human/machine interaction . We are [...]

Overview Stereolithography is a 3D printing process that uses high intensity light to selectively cure a liquid precursor into a solid polymer. Historically, stereolithography has used a moving laser beam to cure a single spot (or voxel) of material at a time. Digital Mask Projection Stereolithography (DMP-SL) replaces the laser with a conventional digital [...]

In the spring of 2012, I began my foray into desktop 3D printing. Using money saved up from an internship at Holocene Technologies, I purchased one of the original UP! 3D printers during a clearance sale as new models were being released. This machine proved invaluable to prototyping my senior design project that semester. I was [...]

During the summer of 2011, I worked as a researcher in Dr. Seelecke's Multifunctional Materials Systems Lab at the Universität des Saarlandes in Saarbrücken, Germany. My work focused on the use of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires to mimic the function of biological muscles. First, a kinematic model of the bat motion is developed in order to determine the desired [...]

As a student at North Carolina State University, I performed research in Dr. Seelecke's Adaptive Structures Lab. During this time, my focus was working with Dielectric Electro-Active Polymers (DEAPs). DEAPs are thin, stretchable capacitors that can be used as either actuators or sensors. By applying a high electric field, the shape and stiffness of the [...]

This project was completed during a two-semester sequence within the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program at North Carolina State University. During these courses, an interdisciplinary team is tasked with identifying and solving a real-world problem. The first semester is used largely for ideation and market analysis. During the final semester each team builds [...]