Date of Award

8-2014

Access Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Heidi M. Steinhauer, Ph.D.

First Committee Member

Jean M. Dhainaut, Ph.D.

Second Committee Member

Virginie Rollin, Ph.D.

Abstract

A manuscript-style thesis composed of three studies covered the application of living hinge designs in the additive manufacturing process of fused deposition modeling. Initial research included comparing numerical and analytical linear analyses on a traditional living hinge design. The second research consisted of tensile testing for the material properties of the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) used in fused deposition modeling (FDM) process by the MakerBot 2X as well as adjusting the traditional design to be printed. The third study explored alternate living hinge designs that utilize the geometric freedom provided by additive manufacturing to more evenly distribute stress across the hinge. The traditional living hinge design is not feasible for FDM ABS while alternate designs such as a longer hinge length or wave pattern demonstrated minimal stress experienced across the hinge. Further research on optimizing alternate designs is encouraged.

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