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Miniaturization of Non-Assembly Metallic Pin-Joints by LPBF-Based Additive Manufacturing as Perfect Pivots for
Florian Gutmann1,2, Maximilian Stilz1, Sankalp Patil1
1Department of Sustainable Systems Engineering-INATECH, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Emmy-Noether-Straße 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 11, 2023
Summary
Researchers developed additively manufactured, non-assembly pin-joints for pantographic metamaterials. These miniaturized pivots demonstrate excellent mechanical performance and fatigue resistance, enabling novel small-scale mechanical designs.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Mechanical Engineering
- Additive Manufacturing
Background:
- Pantographic metamaterials offer unique mechanical properties but are limited by traditional rigid pivot designs.
- Miniaturization of mechanical components presents significant manufacturing challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce additively manufactured, non-assembly, miniaturized pin-joints for pantographic metamaterials.
- To optimize the laser powder bed fusion process for producing these intricate joints.
- To evaluate the mechanical performance and fatigue resistance of the novel pin-joints.
Main Methods:
- Utilized titanium alloy Ti6Al4V and laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) for fabrication.
- Optimized L-PBF process parameters and printing angle for miniaturized joints.
- Characterized mechanical behavior using bias extension tests and cyclic fatigue experiments.
- Analyzed pin-joint geometry and function using computed tomography (CT) scans.
Main Results:
- Successfully manufactured non-assembly, miniaturized pin-joints with diameters of 350–670 µm.
- Achieved superior fatigue performance (no fatigue after 100 cycles at ~20% elongation) compared to rigid pivots.
- CT scans confirmed functional rotational joints despite small clearances (115–132 µm).
- Eliminated the need for geometric compensation in CAD models through process optimization.
Conclusions:
- Additive manufacturing enables the creation of novel mechanical metamaterials with integrated, functional micro-scale joints.
- The developed pin-joints offer enhanced mechanical performance and fatigue resistance.
- This technology opens avenues for stiffness-optimized metamaterials with variable torque resistance.
