scholarly journals Low-Cost Open-Source Voltage and Current Monitor for Gas Metal Arc Weld 3D Printing

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pinar ◽  
B. Wijnen ◽  
G. C. Anzalone ◽  
T. C. Havens ◽  
P. G. Sanders ◽  
...  

Arduino open-source microcontrollers are well known in sensor applications for scientific equipment and for controlling RepRap 3D printers. Recently low-cost open-source gas metal arc weld (GMAW) RepRap 3D printers have been developed. The entry-level welders used have minimal controls and therefore lack any real-time measurement of welder voltage or current. The preliminary work on process optimization of GMAW 3D printers requires a low-cost sensor and data logger system to measure welder current and voltage. This paper reports on the development of a low-cost open-source power measurement sensor system based on Arduino architecture. The sensor system was designed, built, and tested with two entry-level MIG welders. The full bill of materials and open source designs are provided. Voltage and current were measured while making stepwise adjustments to the manual voltage setting on the welder. Three conditions were tested while welding with steel and aluminum wire on steel substrates to assess the role of electrode material, shield gas, and welding velocity. The results showed that the open source sensor circuit performed as designed and could be constructed for <$100 in components representing a significant potential value through lateral scaling and replication in the 3D printing community.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Kelzenberg ◽  
Samuel P. Loke ◽  
Harry A. Atwater
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 2065-2076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Wickert ◽  
Chad T. Sandell ◽  
Bobby Schulz ◽  
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng

Abstract. Automated electronic data loggers revolutionized environmental monitoring by enabling reliable high-frequency measurements. However, the potential to monitor the complex environmental interactions involved in global change has not been fully realized due to the high cost and lack of modularity of commercially available data loggers. Responding to this need, we developed the ALog (Arduino logger) series of three open-source data loggers, based on the popular and easy-to-program Arduino microcontroller platform. ALog data loggers are low cost, lightweight, and low power; they function between −30 and +60 ∘C, can be powered by readily available alkaline batteries, and can store up to 32 GB of data locally. They are compatible with standard environmental sensors, and the ALog firmware library may be expanded to add additional sensor support. The ALog has measured parameters linked to weather, streamflow, and glacier melt during deployments of days to years at field sites in the USA, Canada, Argentina, and Ecuador. The result of this work is a robust and field-tested open-source data logger that is the direct descendant of dozens of individuals' contributions to the growing open-source electronics movement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled M Dadesh ◽  
Saif M Ben Rhouma

When looking at installing a renewable energy generator, you need to be confident of the resource (solar, wind) at your particular location as this affects the energy generated at the selected site. With solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, this can be done by looking at historic data, generally from satellite readings, for the particular latitude. This will yield pretty accurate resource data. However, the wind resource is incredibly variable and depends upon the exact topology of the area. Houses, trees, and valleys all can affect the local wind resource. For this reason, wind speed data is collected at a potential wind turbine installation site. This gives real data which can be used to assess the wind speed. When installing a number of very expensive large wind turbines, one must be very confident about the wind speed data. The data must be robust and reliable and the developer will be willing to spend a lot of money on accurate industrial equipment to have lots of confidence in the data. This project intends to overcome this barrier by providing a low-cost, reusable, open-source wind speed recording unit, which can be left at high altitude in a remote location to record data and help improve the site’s wind speed assessment. We have proposed and developed a low-cost hardware module based on Arduino open source platform, which measures the meteorological data, including air, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation, with two options: The first is the wireless option at which it sends the measured information to Excel spreadsheet running on a PC through wireless link. The second is the data logger option at which it records the measured data to SD card as Excel file with date and time every 10 seconds..


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Cardona ◽  
Abigail H Curdes ◽  
Aaron J Isaacs

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most popular additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies due to the growing availability of low-cost desktop 3D printers and the relatively low cost of the thermoplastic filament used in the 3D printing process. Commercial filament suppliers, 3D printer manufacturers, and end-users regard filament diameter tolerance as an important indicator of the 3D printing quality. Irregular filament diameter affects the flow rate during the filament extrusion, which causes poor surface quality, extruder jams, irregular gaps in-between individual extrusions, and/or excessive overlap, which eventually results in failed 3D prints. Despite the important role of the diameter consistency in the FFF process, few studies have addressed the required tolerance level to achieve highest 3D printing quality. The objective of this work is to develop the testing methods to measure the filament tolerance and control the filament fabrication process. A pellet-based extruder is utilized to fabricate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament using a nozzle of 1.75 mm in diameter. Temperature and extrusion rate are controlled parameters. An optical comparator and an array of digital calipers are used to measure the filament diameter. The results demonstrate that it is possible to achieve high diameter consistency and low tolerances (0.01mm) at low extrusion temperature (180 °C) and low extrusion rate (10 in/min). 


Fourth Industrial Revolution gave birth to few different technologies, not known until now. One of them is 3D printing. If subtracting manufacturing is part of Industrial Revolution 3, Additive manufacturing is for sure part of Industrial Revolution 4.0. 3D printing has the potential to transform science and technology by creating bespoke, low-cost appliances that previously required dedicated facilities to make. 3D printers are used to initiate chemical reactions by printing the reagents directly into a 3D reactionware matrix, and so put reactionware design, construction and operation under digital control. Some models of 3D Printers can print uniquely shaped sugar confections in flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, mint, cherry, sour apple and watermelon. They can also print custom cake toppers–presumably in the likeness of the guest of honor.


Author(s):  
Sachin Bijadi ◽  
Erik de Bruijn ◽  
Erik Y. Tempelman ◽  
Jos Oberdorf

Low-cost 3D desktop printing, although still in its infancy, is rapidly maturing, with a wide range of applications. With its ease of production and affordability, it has led to development of a global maker culture, with the design and manufacture of artefacts by individuals as a collaborative & creative hobbyist practice. This has enabled mass customization of goods with the potential to disrupt conventional manufacturing, giving more people access to traditionally expensive products like prosthetics and medical devices [1], as is the case with e-NABLE, a global community providing open source prosthetics for people with upper limb deficiencies. However one of the major barriers to proliferation of 3D printing as a major manufacturing method is the limitation of compatible materials for use with the technology [2]. This places constraints on the design approach, as well as the complexity & functionality of artefacts that can be produced with 3D printing as compared to traditional manufacturing methods. As a result, devices like the e-NABLE Raptor Reloaded prosthetic hand, which is designed specifically to be produced via a single extruder FDM desktop 3D printer, have limited functionality as compared to conventional prosthetics, leading to low active use and prosthesis abandonment [3]. However, with the advent of multi-material desktop 3D printing, and increasing availability of a broader range of compatible materials (of varying characteristics) [2], there is scope for improving capabilities of low-cost prosthetics through the creation of more sophisticated multi-material functional integrated devices. This work documents the exploration of potential applications of multi-material 3D printing to improve production, capabilities and usability of low-cost open source prosthetics. Various material combinations were initially studied and functional enhancements for current 3D printed prosthetics were prototyped using key material combinations identified. Further, a user-centered design approach was utilized to develop a novel multi-material anthropomorphic prosthetic hand ‘ex_machina’ based on a modular platform architecture, to demonstrate the scope for reduced build complexity and improved dexterity & functional customization enabled by dual extrusion FDM desktop 3D printing. A full prototype was built & tested with a lead user, and results analyzed to determine scope for optimization.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 582-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett P. Conner ◽  
Guha P. Manogharan ◽  
Kerry L. Meyers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of entry-level printers in small businesses and education to identify corresponding benefits, implications and challenges. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from four small businesses in northeast Ohio through survey- and interview-based feedback to develop an understanding of their use of entry-level 3D printing. Three businesses are representative of typical manufacturing-related small companies (final part fabrication-, tooling- and system-level suppliers) and the fourth company provides manufacturing-related educational tools. Corresponding learning from implementation and outcomes are assessed. Findings – Adoption of 3D printing technology was enabled through hands-on experience with entry-level 3D printers, even with their shortcomings. Entry-level 3D printing provided a workforce development opportunity to prepare small businesses to eventually work with production grade systems. Originality/value – This paper details industry-based findings on venturing into commercializing 3D printing through first-hand experiences enabled by entry-level 3D printing.


Author(s):  
Torstein Yddal ◽  
Sandy Cochran ◽  
Odd Helge Gilja ◽  
Michiel Postema ◽  
Spiros Kotopoulis

AbstractStudying the effects of ultrasound on biological cells requires extensive knowledge of both the physical ultrasound and cellular biology. Translating knowledge between these fields can be complicated and time consuming. With the vast range of ultrasonic equipment available, nearly every research group uses different or unique devices. Hence, recreating the experimental conditions and results may be expensive or difficult. For this reason, we have developed devices to combat the common problems seen in state-of-the-art biomedical ultrasound research. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterisation of an open-source device that is easy to manufacture, allows for parallel sample sonication, and is highly reproducible, with complete acoustic calibration. This device is designed to act as a template for sample sonication experiments. We demonstrate the fabrication technique for devices designed to sonicate 24-well plates and OptiCell™ using three-dimensional (3D) printing and low-cost consumables. We increased the pressure output by electrical impedance matching of the transducers using transmission line transformers, resulting in an increase by a factor of 3.15. The devices cost approximately €220 in consumables, with a major portion attributed to the 3D printing, and can be fabricated in approximately 8 working hours. Our results show that, if our protocol is followed, the mean acoustic output between devices has a variance of <1%. We openly provide the 3D files and operation software allowing any laboratory to fabricate and use these devices at minimal cost and without substantial prior know-how.


RSC Advances ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (95) ◽  
pp. 78109-78127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong He ◽  
Yan Wu ◽  
Jian-Zhong Fu ◽  
Wen-Bin Wu

As the main advantage of μPADs is compact and low-cost, we suggest that three kinds of technology could be utilized to develop the prototype of μPADs-based instruments rapidly, including open source hardware-Aduino, smart phone and 3D printing.


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