As well as being a confident product designer, my degree has also allowed me to explore the world of materials. During the summer of 2012 I undertook a research project within the Materials Department of Loughborough University. The research project was named 'Printable Elastomers for Biomedical Application' and involved researching whether nano-composite (NC) hydrogels could be in situ photo-polymerised using a UV light source and how this could be incorporated into a 3D printing machine.

 

Although this research project was materials based, it had strong connections with the design side of my degree. Throughout my course I was extensively trained in Solidworks and 3D printers. This project aimed at finding out whether it was possible to use NC Hydrgoel solutions within a 'new style' 3D printer using a UV source instead of a high powered laser to polymerise the desired component.

 

The results of the project showed, to some extent, the possibility that these hydrogels could be photo-polymerised, depending on the concentrations of chemicals and clay particles within the mixture. The resulting hydrogels provided high levels of strength along with a flesh like nature to them. This meant that they would be ideal for use within smart prosthetics and muscle scaffolds.

 

At the end of the project each research student had to produce a poster presenting their findings at a conference. The work carried out during my project, along with the poster itself, achieved 1st prize and was awarded by Prof. RC Thomson: Director of the Materials Research School (Loughborough University)