| About this Abstract | 
   
    | Meeting | 2021 Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (SFF Symp 2021) | 
   
    | Symposium | Special Session | 
   
    | Presentation Title | Characterizing the Internal Morphology of Transition Regions in Large-scale Extrusion Deposition Additive Manufacturing | 
   
    | Author(s) | James C. Brackett, Zaky  Hussein, Elijah  Charles, Tyler  Smith, Ahmed  Hassen, Seokpum  Kim, Vlastimil  Kunc, Chad  Duty | 
   
    | On-Site Speaker (Planned) | James C. Brackett | 
   
    | Abstract Scope | A dual-hopper feed system that was developed for the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system allows for transitioning between different materials while maintaining continuous deposition.  This technique creates a step-change in material feedstock by rocking the pellet feeding system to alternate which hopper is currently supplying material, allowing for multi-material construction. The step-change in feedstock material produces a transition region that is characterized by a compositional gradient and blended internal morphology. Initial cross-sectional imaging of the transition region revealed a non-homogenous blend of materials with distinct domains of each material, likely due to incomplete mixing within the screw. This study used a carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF-ABS) and an unfilled ABS to characterize the internal structure and to correlate it to mechanical performance by tracking microhardness across cross-sections of the transition region. Blending capability of the conventional printing hardware was also compared to that of a static-mixing nozzle. | 
   
    | Proceedings Inclusion? | Definite: Post-meeting proceedings |