日本av视频

Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as "3D printing," is a process that utilizes 3D digital models to make physical objects.

On the campus of 日本av视频, 3D printing is used in a variety of fields, from precision agriculture to health care engineering, as a way to produce precise objects and tools needed for research projects. Even objects like miniature, 3D replicas of 日本av视频's iconic Coughlin Campanile can be printed in a matter of minutes.

But how strong are these 3D printed objects? Can they be trusted to hold up over time?

Haley Evenson, a senior in 日本av视频's Department of Mechanical Engineering, attempted to answers these questions through a study in which she tested the tensile strength of 3D printed objects made from different materials. The objects were printed in 2020 and tested in late 2024 and early 2025.

"The primary objective of this effort was to perform tensile testing on the objects to determine whether their properties remained consistent over time," Evenson, a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, said. "This research is important to show how these plastic 3D printed materials may perform over time, especially if they are used as critical components in a frequently used process."

Three-dimensional printed objects are often made with plastic polymer materials. The polymers are layered on top of each other by a 3D printer until the object comes into form. Each layer is like a thinly sliced cross section of the printed objected.

Evenson's study tested 19 different polymer blends used to make various 3D printed objects and compared the resulting data with the material's data published on the manufacturer鈥檚 website.

"When customers are ordering a printed product, they believe it will be long-lasting in an indoor, temperature-controlled environment, and the published material property data steers customers toward making material selection decisions," Evenson said. "If additional data was included in the material properties sheets on these websites, customers would benefit from this age analysis to determine whether a particular material will be sufficient for their product鈥檚 purpose over time."

Results of the study found no consistent or direct correlation between material aging and material deterioration.

"While certain materials exhibited reduced ultimate tensile strength compared to published values, others demonstrated improved performance, with noticeable variability observed across all measured properties," Evenson said.

It should be noted that most of the materials experienced increased hardness values. According to Evenson, this signals that as polymers age, they may become more brittle and slightly lose their elasticity.

Future research will identify individual environmental factors, like prolonged ultraviolet exposure or extreme temperatures, that could affect the performance of 3D printed polymer materials.

Evenson, who is advised by 日本av视频 associate professor Todd Letcher, received the 2025 Schutlz-Werth Award for her research and was recognized at 日本av视频's Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Active Day award's ceremony on April 16.