Wood and Metal Bonded Using Sound and 3D Printing

New Bonding Techniques Revolutionize Manufacturing

Manufacturing could undergo a major transformation thanks to two new techniques developed by scientists in Austria to bond materials in an extremely strong way, eliminating the need for environmentally harmful adhesives.

Although industrial adhesives effectively join components, they often rely on petroleum-based chemicals, which harm the environment. These adhesives require significant energy and resources to produce, release pollutants during their manufacture, and when discarded, can contaminate soil and water. Additionally, some substances used in adhesive production can be dangerous for workers handling them.

Despite attempts to develop eco-friendly adhesives, such as plant-based or biodegradable options, researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria pursued a different strategy. They created two methods that effectively bond various woods with plastics, stainless steel, and titanium alloy.

Addjoining: 3D Printing Bonds Materials at the Pore Level

The first technique, called “Addjoining,” used a 3D printing process to apply materials directly onto untreated wood so that the material penetrated the wood’s pores, forming a bond similar to that of an adhesive. The team then broke the bond to evaluate its strength.

After the fracture, we found polymer in the wood pores and broken wood fibers in the polymer, suggesting that the fracture occurred in both the wood and the polymer, but not at the joint,” explains Gean Marcatto, who worked on the process as a postdoctoral researcher at TU Graz’s Institute of Materials Science, Joining and Forming.

Enhancing 3D Printed Bonds with Laser Treatments

The team believes that treating the wood with lasers to create more complex structures or larger pores could make these 3D-printed bonds even stronger, enhancing their ability to bond with other materials.Sergio Amancio, who led the research, says, We aimed to minimize the number of steps and avoid using chemicals. This technology is particularly beneficial for complex 3D geometries because it prints the components directly onto the surface in any required shape.

Sound-based approach The second bonding technique developed was called “Ultrasonic Joining.” In this method, a tool called a sonotrode sent low-vibration, high-frequency waves through the junction of the wood and metal polymers, creating friction that generated enough heat to bond the materials together.

“This technique is particularly suitable for large components and 2D structures since it allows for a precisely localized bond,” says Awais Awan, co-author of the study.

Applications for Green Bonding in Various Industries

The researchers believe that the new green bonding techniques could find applications in the furniture, automotive, and aerospace industries.

Read the original Article on: New Atlas

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