We analyse the problem of creating didactic material for teaching and evaluating mathematics in the first year of a School of Architecture. By using visual programming, science professor used codes (formulae) to represent in a software their proposals, instead of drawing them themselves. Through this experience we create a database of codes with computational solutions that allows faculty to modify, reuse, visualise and print in the same platform that she students will use while developing their designs. In this way we aim to maximise the link between mathematics and design as fundamental base for the control of complex shapes.

The ease of manufacturing using additive manufacturing (3D-Printing) reduces the overall production cost compared with the traditional manufacturing techniques. Because of the benefits of 3D printing technologies, it is proposed to be used in manufacturing of different products. But there are some flaws that are causing significant effect on 3D printed models which degrades the quality of the product. Hence in order to handle these defects, different measurement techniques are needed to quantify the defects that are seen on the surface of 3D-printed models. In our study there are two experimental setups. Experimental setup one was made to find out the proper coating timing to enable measurement using two good samples without defects in different colors blue and red with same material. Different 2D and 3D parameters were used for the surface measurements are collected and noted for further research. The Defective samples are measured using the state of the art equipment at Halmstad University. Experimental setup two was made to prepare the defective samples and measure the samples. The results obtained assisted to quantify the surface defects seen in the samples. This thesis studies some of the different methods that can be implemented to measure the surface defects on the 3D printed models. A little study on the various defects formed on the 3D printed models and what are the causes for the defects on the products were performed. The results suggest different method for the defects to be measured in both industrial and home or small scale office applications.

Master of Science / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Mei He / Anemia affects about 25% of the world’s population and causes roughly 8% of all disability cases. The development of an affordable point-of-care (POC) device for detecting anemia could be a significant for individuals in underdeveloped countries trying to manage their anemia. The objective of this study was to design and fabricate a 3D printed, low cost microfluidic mixing chip that could be used for the diagnosis of anemia. Microfluidic mixing chips use capillary flow to move fluids without the aid of external power. With new developments in 3D printing technology, microfluidic devices can be fabricated quickly and inexpensively. This study designed and demonstrated a passive microfluidic mixing chip that used capillary force to mix blood and a hemoglobin detecting assay. A 3D computational fluid dynamic simulation model of the chip design showed 96% efficiency when mixing two fluids. The mixing chip was fabricated using a desktop 3D printer in one hour for less than $0.50. Blood samples used for the clinical validation were provided by The University of Kansas Medical Center Biospecimen Repository. During clinical validation, RGB (red, green, blue) values of the hemoglobin detection assay color change within the chip showed consistent and repeatable results, indicating the chip design works efficiently as a passive mixing device. The anemia detection assay tended to overestimate hemoglobin levels at lower values while underestimating them in higher values, showing the assay needs to go through more troubleshooting.

In today’s world regulations to reduce vehicle emissions are only gettingtougher, from said regulations the concept of a Selective Catalytic Reduction(SCR) unit was born, designed to provide a healthy dose of ammonia (NH3)to reduce the NOx compound into harmless components such as water andnitrogen. In this thesis novel approaches where investigated, by combiningthe fast physical absorption and desorption properties of a highly porous ma-terial such as zeolites with the high storage capacity of metal chlorides wecan potentially improve NH3 dosing in the low temperature operating range,such as when vehicles have just been turned on. Additive manufacturing pro-vides a faster and convenient processing route, that can cut down costs andallows for an inexpensive prototyping phase. With the aid of 3D printing weprepared a prototype cage-like shape using zeolite 13X with a combination ofPVP, binders and solvent,this structures would be used in conjunction withMgCl2, the latter would be enclosed the cage and so that their volume ex-pansion could be contained. This approach provides a low temperature rangefriendly solution for the release of NH3 in a SCR unit. The experimentationand characterization of the composites mixed by mechanical process showedgreat promise of what it can be achieved by incorporating zeolites and metalchlorides for ammonia storage and dosing. In the end a successful formulaand process to 3D print zeolite 13X using a PAM approach was deliveredthat showed similar results to untreated 13X.

3D printing has revolutionised traditional manufacturing methods, opening up and distributing design and production of low cost, custom objects to virtually anyone. Tailoring of print material and part geometry allows for the benefits of this technology to reach multiple engineering and scientific fields, given appropriate design. A multidisciplinary approach concerning development of new print materials and methods was undertaken with the aim of further expansion and application of 3D printing towards electrochemical applications. Specific requirements of materials used in this domain, such as conductivity and chemical stability, led to development of functional printable carbon composites, compatible with consumer grade 3D printers. This allows facile production of cheap, reusable, disposable, electrodes for analytical applications, demonstrating heavy metal detection in aqueous media and allowing further tailoring to specific applications to be easily implemented. A new method for printing of cellulose solutions was developed, with post processing of printed parts resulting in biocompatible, porous, conductive structures. When used as electrodes in microbial fuel cells, improved power and current output over traditionally used carbon cloth electrodes was achieved. Other developments resulting from this work applicable to other fields include a novel trajectory generation method based on exponential functions which can be applied to practically any robotic system, as well as improvements to the production process of metal alloy filaments for 3D printing of metallic components.

A 3D-printed microfluidic lab-on-a-disc (LOAD) device was designed and manufactured using a low cost ( ̃£1600) consumer grade fused deposition modelling (FDM) Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer with imbedded microfluidic channels 1 mm wide, 400 μm depth and with a volumetric capacity of approximate 23 μl. FDM printers are not typically used, or are capable, of producing the fine detailed structures required for microfluidic fabrication; in addition 3D-printed objects can suffer from poor optical transparency. However, in this work, imbedded microfluidic channels were produced and the optical transparency of the device was improved though manufacture optimisation to such a point that optical colourimetric assays can be performed in a microfluidic cuvette device with sample path length of 500 μm and volumetric capacity of 190 μl. When acetone vapour treatment was used, it was possible to improve transparency of plastic samples by up to a further 30%. The LOAD device is capable of being spun using an unmodified optical disc drive (ODD), demonstrating the centrifugation based separation of plasma from whole blood in a low-cost FDM 3D-printed microfluidic LOAD device. A cholesterol assay and glucose assay was developed and optimised using cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) or glucose oxidase (GlOx) respectively and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) for the oxidative coupling of chromotropic acid (CTA) and 4-aminoantipyrine (AAP). This produced a blue quinoneimine dye with a broad absorbance peaking at 590 nm for the quantification of cholesterol/glucose in solution. The colourimetric enzymatic cascade assays were developed for use within low-cost FDM 3D-printed microfluidic devices to demonstrate the capabilities and functionality of the devices. For comparison, the assay was run in standard 96 well plates with a commercial plate reader. The results demonstrated that the quantification of 0-10 mM glucose solution using a 3D-printed microfluidic optical device had a performance comparable to a plate reader assay; glucose assay in whole blood samples R2 = 0.96.

This thesis provided the foundational work for a low-cost three-dimensional (3D) printed custom knee brace. Specifically, the objective was to research, develop and implement a novel workflow aimed to be easy to use and available to anyone who has access to a smartphone camera and 3D printing services. The developed workflow was used to manufacture two prototypes which proved valuable in the design iterations. As a result, an improved hinge was designed which has increased mechanical strength. Additionally, a smartphone photogrammetry validation study was included which provided preliminary results on the accuracy and precision. This novel measurement method has the potential to require little training and could be disseminated through video instructions posted online. The intention is to enable the patient to collect their own “3D scan” with the help of a friend or family member, effectively removing the need to book an appointment simply for collecting custom measurements. Lastly, it would allow the clinician to focus all their time on clinically relevant design tasks such as checking alignment, fit and comfort, which could all potentially be improved by adopting such digital methods. The ultimate vision for this work is to enable manufacturing of better custom knee braces at a reduce cost which are easily accessible for low-income populations.

We explore user interactions with concrete physical visualizations—physicalizations—of personal experiential data. We conducted three user studies involving physicalizations of data gathered while trail running—a sport in which participants are largely more focused on the experience than the exercise itself. In two qualitative studies, we asked trail runners to give us a GPS path from a "significant run" and then prepared a 3D physicalization featuring the path overlaid as a raised line on the corresponding real-world terrain. In the first, physicalizations had a significant impact in helping participants recall memories of their experiences, and participants shared many stories. In a follow-up study, we found that participants told frequent stories when interacting with physicalizations and very few with paper topographic maps. In a third, quantitative study, we found that participants could identify features of a path in mountainous terrain with greater speed and accuracy on a 3D physicalization than on a paper map. We theorize that these physicalizations allow for a reduced cognitive load as compared to 2D topographic maps, leaving mental faculties free to recall stored memories.

One of the greatest challenges in achieving accurate positioning in head and neck radiotherapy is that the anatomy at and above the cervical spine does not act as a single, mechanically rigid body. Current immobilization techniques contain residual uncertainties that are especially present in the lower neck that cannot be reduced by setting up to any single landmark. The work presented describes the development of a radiotherapy friendly mostly-plastic 6D robotic platform for positioning independent landmarks, (i.e., allowing remote, independent positioning of the skull relative to landmarks in the thorax), including analysis of kinematics, stress, radiographic compatibility, trajectory planning, physical construction, and phantom measurements of correction accuracy. No major component of the system within the field of imaging or treatment had a measured attenuation value greater than 250 HU, showing compatibility with x-ray-based imaging techniques. Relative to arbitrary overall setup errors of the head (min = 1.1 mm, max = 5.2 mm vector error) the robotic platform corrected the position down to a residual overall error of 0.75 mm +/- 0.33 mm over 15 cases as measured with optical tracking. This device shows the potential for providing reductions to dose margins in head and neck therapy cases, while also reducing setup time and effort.

Now and in the future we will consider more and more ecological aspects. The car industry already has a strong commitment to environmental care, but I have decided to investigate how we can go a step further. Imagine a car taking advantage of new and upcoming technologies to reduce its footprint. This vehicle will demonstrate a new method to mass produce cars by simplifying the workflow and reduce the amount of component. The main idea is to be energy efficient while you build it and drive it.