Papers by Author: Yoshinari Miyamoto

Abstract: A newly developed freeform fabrication process named 3D Micro-Welding, which is a combined system of a micro-TIG welding and a layered manufacturing method, is demonstrated. Various refractory alloys such as Inconel, stainless steel, and Invar can be freeformed besides elemental metals like titanium. Small metal beads of ~1mm in diameter are formed by emitting micro arc to the top of a thin metal wire of 0.2mm diameter. A fused bead is welded to a metal substrate or previously formed beads. By continuing this process and building up beads layer by layer under the control of CAD/CAM system, 3D objects were produced. In this study, optimization of micro-welding parameters such as the waveform of pulsed arc current and electrode materials were investigated and simple 3D objects of Inconel 600, SUS 304, Invar 42 were formed. The interfaces between adjacent beads were joined well and no crack or pore existed in the formed objects. The density and Vickers hardness of Inconel 600 objects showed comparable values to the commercial Inconel alloy, however the yield strength and Young’s modulus was about 80% and 70% of that alloy, respectively.

Abstract: Functionally structured material is a tailored material to have unique geometric structures and create new functions or high performances. Design and fabrication of 3D ceramic photonic crystals and fractals using CAD/CAM stereolithography are demonstrated as well as their unique functions of reflection and localization of electromagnetic waves as typical examples of functionally structured materials. The outlook of functionally structured materials is briefly discussed.

Abstract: The three-dimensional (3D) photonic band gap material is a material that there exists a full photonic band gap in which waves are forbidden to propagate whatever the polarization or the direction of propagation. In order to obtain photonic bandgap in lower range, we focus on the fabrication of PBG materials of diamond structure with TiO2 powder mixed with SiO2. The inverse epoxy structure with periodic diamond lattices in millimeter order has been fabricated by stereolithographic rapid prototyping. TiO2 slurry was filled into the epoxy structure and then cold isostatic pressing was applied. After sintering at 700K for 5hrs, the epoxy was burnt out and the designed structure was maintained perfectly. The calculated band diagram shows that there exists an absolute photonic band gap for all wave vectors. The measurement of transmission from 10 to 20 GHz in <100> direction shows that a complete band gap is formed at about 14.7-18.5 GHz. The magnitude of the maximum attenuation is as large as 30 dB at 17 GHz.

Abstract: Three-dimensional electromagnetic or photonic crystals with periodic variations of the dielectric constants were fabricated by using a rapid prototyping method called stereolithography. Millimeter-order epoxy lattices with a diamond structure were designed to reflect electromagnetic waves by forming an electromagnetic band gap in GHz range. Titania based ceramic particles were dispersed into the lattice to control the dielectric constant. The diamond lattice structures formed the perfect band gap reflecting electromagnetic waves for all directions. The location of the band gap agreed with the band calculation using the plane wave propagation method. The diamond structures with graded lattice spacing were successfully fabricated as well, resulting in the directional transmission of microwaves. The stretching ratio of the lattice spacing in the crystal structure was changed according to the electromagnetic band calculation. A microwave antenna head composed of the diamond structure with graded lattice spacing was fabricated which achieved the unidirectional transmission.

Abstract: Menger-sponge is a three dimensional fractal structure with self-similar patterns. We fabricated the Menger-sponge structure composed of epoxy with titania-based ceramic particles dispersion by using a stereolithography CAD/CAM system. It has a cubic body of 27 mm in edge size with square through holes of 1, 3 and 9 mm. The structure is characterized with a fractal dimension D = 2.73 and a fractal stage 3. The electromagnetic wave response of the Menger-sponge was measured by using a network analyzer. Both reflection and transmission amplitudes of incident waves showed remarkable attenuations to -50 dB at 8 GHz simultaneously. The electric field intensity in the center holes in the Menger-sponge was measured by using a mono-pole antenna. The electromagnetic energy was localized in the central air cavity by forming the strong localization mode. The localized mode frequency can be controlled by changing the structure size, number of stage, and the effective dielectric constant. We call such fractal structures as the photonic fractal.

Abstract: When a surface of a titanium disk was melted in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen using a 3D Micro Welder which was designed by the present authors, the surface was nitrided to a depth of 90 to 260μm depending on the arc current of 6 to 24 A. The concentration of nitrogen in the nitrided layer was approximately 50 mol% at the surface, and the concentration decreased as the distance from the surface increased. A TiN layer was formed at the surface, and beneath the TiN layer, a dual phase layer of TiN and α-Ti was formed. Vickers hardness was approximately 1800 in the TiN layer and it varied from 900 to 200 in the dual phase layer as the distance from the surface increased.

Abstract: An entirely new functional material named photonic fractal has been developed. It can strongly localize electromagnetic waves in a dielectric fractal cube called Menger sponge without reflection and transmission. The wavelength and frequency of the localized mode can be predicted using a simple equation associated with the fractal geometry and the spatially averaged dielectric constant of the Menger sponge structure. A wide variety of applications to communication, information, energy, sensing, medical care, and other fields are considered. Design and fabrication of Menger sponge fractals with epoxy resin and ceramics, their electromagnetic wave responses, integration of photonic fractals as well as potential applications are reported.