Additive Manufacturing Lab

At the AddLab, various projects are developed that involve 3D printing, programming microcontrollers, and working with Raspberry Pi. The AddLab also provides a unique opportunity for multidisciplinary collaboration among students from different fields, such as Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Computer Science, and Architecture & Design.

Here are a few projects that have been developed:

The NJIT Swab

The NJIT Swab was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a cheap, rapidly manufacturable replacement for testing swabs. Its design is optimized for rapid FDM extrusion rates ( 0.8mm nozzle at .4mm layer height, 2 grams PLA ) to accelerate production speed during crises at minimal weight and cost. It is currently undergoing trials for sterilization methods before field implementation can occur.

Mortar Tube

The mortar tube was designed using additive manufacturing for the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). The design of the prototype mortar tube utilizes 3D printed materials to mimic the abilities of one made from conventional materials. The receiver and firing mechanism housing are manufactured with polylactic acid (PLA) and the internal components of the firing mechanism are manufactured with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
 

Multispectral Cameras

Funded by the Office of Justice Programs (National Institute of Justice), the goal of this project is to develop multispectral imaging cameras for forensic crime scene investigations and agriculture. This project focuses on the development of a multispectral (~16 colors) camera from the visible through near infrared. The camera is capable of acquiring multispectral images at video rates. Several software issues are being addressed in the project including parallel processing of multiple video and still images, image processing, spectral analysis, and user displays.
 

Helicopter

The Helicopter was designed to demonstrate the potential to add a real-time camera streaming system (with remote desktop availability), night vision, and multiple sensory devices, such as a temperature sensor, to existing helicopters in operation. These types of systems have the possibility of improving the safety of pilots, as well as giving them the ability to make additional strategic decisions with their available equipment. The Helicopter was constructed using a combination of additive manufacturing techniques and embedded computing devices, such as 3D printing with PLA plastic and the integration of a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino Uno.
 

Polar Bear Tank

The Tank, dubbed the "Polar Bear" because of its white plastic color, was designed to demonstrate the potential of using additive manufacturing to create an operational tank that can navigate different terrains, fire pellets, and provide a real-time camera streaming service with remote desktop. To construct the tank, 3D printing with PLA plastic was used to form the body and turret, a Raspberry Pi was incorporated to provde the video stream, and aluminum was used to form the frame. The tank also communicates with an Android controller which is used to operate and drive the tank.

The Modular Exploratory Drone Fleet is a drone arsenal designed for deep cave exploration and operations. The arsenal consists of two main components, the Mothership and the distributive drones. The Mothership is the central communication hub of the fleet, and can carry two distributive drones on board. When the Mothership reaches a location in the cave where it cannot explore further, the distributed drones are deployed to continue collecting data. This fleet system works to relay captured data back to the user to provide real time information that enables scientists to analyze the areas being researched.