www.3ders.org

Apr 8, 2016 | By Alec

As our regular readers might know, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which often teams up with researchers from the nearby University of Tennessee, has been responsible for some awesome 3D printing innovations. Just six months ago, for instance, the partners joined forces with Aerojet Rocketdyne to purchase three top quality laser 3D printers to create 3D printed aerospace applications. More recently, the lab collaborated with two innovative high school students, who had an idea for a 3D printed self-locking nail.

The two students in question are Max Lamantia and Devin Schafer, both seniors at the Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Under the direction of their engineering teacher Melinda Hamby, they worked on finding a solution to the problem of nails becoming loose from wooden structures over time. The age old problem occurs due to natural heat and humidity fluctuations of the wood. “We had heard a couple of complaints from our friends and families about their wooden patio nails coming out and being dangerous to walk around on,” said Lamantia. “We decided that there had to be an easy fix for this that was faster and less expensive than using screws.”

Together, they came up with a remarkably simple solution they called a self-locking nail, which was inspired by the shape and purpose of a hollow-point bullet. After studying various nail designs, they had the brilliant idea of adding a ring of teeth to the nail’s striking edge, which looks the nail into the wood at multiple locations. “When we compared different ideas, we had two that we really liked,” Schafer said on the TU website. “We decided to combine the both of them for our finished product.”

But taking a good idea from the drawing board into real life is often the most challenging part. Fortunately, Lamantia had participated in the 2015 Governor’s School for Engineering, which was hosted by the University of Tennessee. There, he met professors Kurt Sickafus and and Tai-Gang Nieh of the University’s Department of Materials Science. Contacting them again in January, he asked them for advice on how to begin prototyping and developing their new nail concept.

They were only too happy to help, and acted as co-mentors for taking the project further. Realizing that 3D printing might be the best solution for developing a prototype, they approached Suresh Babu, the joint UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing – a 3D printing expert. Babu was also only too happy to help, and enlisted the services of grad student Sarah Jane Foster, ORNL researcher Fred List III and tech intern Keith Carver.

With their help, they produced a prototype of these self-locking nails using their selective laser melting 3D printers, creating what is now called the Lamantia-Schafer self-locking nail. “Partnering with UT and ORNL has been invaluable for our students and our school,” said their teacher Hamby. “Not only has it helped Devin and Max through mentorship and prototype production, it has also brought validation to the design process that we teach in our engineering program here at Central Magnet.” The next steps in the project will be focused on testing performance, material selection and analysis, in an attempt to optimize the nail’s functionality. Perhaps a staple in hardware stores in a few years?

More importantly, the project is a step towards stimulating Tennessee’s next generation of makers and engineers – exactly why the researchers were happy to help. “This successful collaboration between Central Magnet School, UT, and ORNL demonstrates how the College of Engineering’s Governor’s School program is highly effective at promoting the development of our next generation of engineers and technical professionals right here in Tennessee,” said Sickafus. With projects like this being created by high schoolers, the future of making is looking very bright.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

Maybe you also like:

• T-Bone Cape motion control board launches on Indiegogo
• New extruder could lower costs of 3D printing cellular structures for drug testing
• New Ninja Printer Plate for consumer 3D printing
• mUVe3D releases improved Marlin firmware for all 3D printers
• Zecotek plans HD 3D display for 3D printers
• Add a smart LCD controller to your Robo3D printer
• Maker Kase: a handy cabinet for 3D printers
• Heated bed for ABS printing with the Printrbot Simple XL
• Next gen all metal 3D printer extruder from Micron
• Pico all-metal hotend 100% funded in 48 hours, B3 announces Stretch Goal
• Create it REAL announces first 3D printing Real Time Processor
• A larger and more powerful 3D printer extruder on Kickstarter

   

Leave a comment:

Your Name: