The potential of additive manufacturing to produce architected lattice structures is remarkable, but restrictions imposed by manufacturing processes lead to practical limits on the form and dimension of structures that can be produced. In the present work, the capabilities of fused filament fabrication (FFF) to produce miniature lattices were explored, as they represent an inexpensive option for the production of polymer custom-made lattice structures. First, fused filament fabrication design guidelines were tested to assess their validity for miniature unit cells and lattice structures. The predictions were contrasted with the results of printing tests, showing some discrepancies between expected outcomes and resulting printed structures. It was possible to print functional 3D miniature open cell polymer lattice structures without support, even when some FFF guidelines were infringed, i.e., recommended minimum strut thickness and maximum overhang angle. Hence, a broad range of lattice structures with complex topologies are possible, beyond the cubic-type cell arrangements. Nevertheless, there are hard limits in 3D printing of miniature lattice structures. Strut thickness, length and orientation were identified as critical parameters in miniature lattice structures. Printed lattices that did not fully comply with FFF guidelines were capable of bearing compressive loads, even if surface quality and accuracy issues could not be fully resolved. Nevertheless, 3D printed FFF lattice structures could represent an improvement compared to other additive manufacturing processes, as they offer good control of cell geometry, and does not require additional post-processing.

Fused deposition modeling represents a flexible and relatively inexpensive alternative for the production of custom-made polymer lattices. However, its limited accuracy and resolution lead to geometric irregularities and poor mechanical properties when compared with the digital design. Although the link between geometric features and mechanical properties of lattices has been studied extensively, the role of manufacturing parameters has received little attention. Additionally, as the size of cells/struts nears the accuracy limit of the manufacturing process, the interaction between geometry and manufacturing parameters could be decisive. Hence, the influence of three geometric and two manufacturing parameters on the mechanical behavior was evaluated using a fractional factorial design of experiments. The compressive behavior of two miniature lattice structures, the truncated octahedron and cubic diamond, was evaluated, and multilinear regression models for the elastic modulus and plateau stress were developed. Cell size, unit cell type, and strut diameter had the largest impact on the mechanical properties, while the influence of feedstock material and layer thickness was very limited. Models based on factorial design, although limited in scope, could be an effective tool for the design of customized lattice structures.

In this paper, we study the capabilities of two additive manufacturing technologies for the production of lattice structures, namely material extrusion and vat photopolymerization additive manufacturing. A set of polymer lattice structures with diverse unit cell types were built using these additive manufacturing methods and tested under compression. Lattice structures built using material extrusion had lower accuracy and a lower relative density caused by the air gaps between layers, but had higher elastic moduli and larger energy absorption capacities, as a consequence of both the thicker struts and the relatively larger strength of the feedstock material. Additionally, the deformation process in lattices was analyzed using sequential photographs taken during the compression tests, evidencing larger differences according to the manufacturing process and unit-cell type. Both additive manufacturing methods produced miniature lattice structures with similar mechanical properties, but vat polymerization should be the preferred option when high geometrical accuracy is required. Nevertheless, as the solid material determines the compressive response of the lattice structure, the broader availability of feedstock materials gives an advantage to material extrusion in applications requiring stiffer structures or with higher energy absorption capabilities.

The accumulation of particles in a turbulent flow of incompressible air with mono-dispersed solid particles inside a 90° pipe bend was simulated using ANSYS^® Fluent (CFD), taking into account the effect of gravity, drag force and a bidirectional fluid-particle coupling. An analysis of the geometrical parameters and the structures of the secondary flow generated in a curved pipe (Dean vortices) was developed, thus determining the characteristic time scales of the flow. Four Stokes numbers (Stk) were formulated, whose values are calculated and studied from the numerical simulations performed. Two different particle sizes (d1 = 50 μm y d2 = 150 μm), at two different flow conditions (Re1 = 61,500 y Re2 = 173,972), and for three curvature ratios Rc/R = 1, 4 and 8 were studied. The flow was solved using a Eulerian–Lagrangian approach with a RNG k-ε turbulence model. Once the multiphase flow was solved and validated, the distribution and maximum particle concentration inside the 90° bend were presented. Additionally, the Stk numbers were calculated to estimate the possible particle concentration level for the different system configurations (dp, Re and Rc/R). It is concluded that, if all Stk numbers are less than one, relative concentration levels reach a minimum, while for Stk numbers larger than one, an increase in the maximum concentration inside the pipe bend was noticed.