3D-Printed honeycomb polylactic acid (PLA) lattices were dip-coated with two preceramic polymers (polyvinylsilazane and allylhydridopolycarbosilane) and then converted by pyrolysis respectively into SiCN and SiC ceramics. Here, an indirect 3D printing approach combining Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and replica process is demonstrated as a simple and low-cost approach to deliver complex near-net-shaped cellular Si-based non-oxide ceramic architectures while preserving the structure. However, 3D printing based on material extrusion is still not fully explored. The ANOVA analysis also shows that increasing number of shells contribute to greater tensile strength for both materials.Īdditive manufacturing of Polymer-Derived Ceramics (PDCs) is regarded as a disruptive fabrication process that includes several technologies such as light curing and ink writing. The result shows that PLA exhibits better tensile performance compared to PLA/Aluminium composite. This study intends to apply Taguchi's design of experiment (DOE) method to compare the effect of printing parameters such as layer thickness, number of shell and printing speed on the tensile strength of PLA and PLA/Aluminium composite. The need to study the mechanical properties and effect of printing parameters on the printed parts of different materials is essential to achieve the desired output. However new PLA-based composites need to be developed with improved mechanical properties for specific applications. A common material used for this FDM technology is polylactic acid (PLA) as it is sustainable, low cost, and compatible with the system. The demand is increasing recently making this technology a popular choice for the industry especially using fused deposition modeling (FDM) method. Finally, the open challenges for enabling highly deformable and strong soft vacuum-powered actuation are discussed.ģD printing technology has been developed to produce prototype and end used parts. Then the main materials and fabrication processes are described, and the most promising approaches are highlighted. Strategies for designing vacuum-powered actuators are outlined from a mechanical perspective. A variety of constitutive materials and design principles are described and discussed. In this work, an overview of vacuum-powered soft fluidic actuators is provided, by classifying them as based on morphological design, origami architecture, and structural instability. For this reason, understanding, both, the geometry and morphology of the core structure, and the material characteristics, is crucial to achieving the desired kinetics and kinematics. In contrast to inflatable fluidic actuators, the properties of the materials with which they are built have a stronger influence on the kinematic trajectory. Indeed, they have been widely exploited in soft robots, for example, grippers and manipulators, wearable devices, locomotion robots, etc. In the past few years, vacuum-powered soft actuators have shown strong potential due to their promising mechanical performance (i.e., fail-safe, fast response, compactness, robustness, jamming, etc.).