title: Thermographic inspection to provide quality assurance for reinforced 3D printer filaments

authors: Huang, Ding Yi Monique

subjects: Thermography inspection natural fibre reinforced filaments

abstract: This research demonstrates the feasibility of active thermography in inspecting 3D printing filaments. Examine the potential of pulsed phase thermography in quality assurance of short and natural fibre reinforced polymer composites. Signal analysis scripts were built in Matlab to process the raw data recordings collected. These scripts included were; Single Pixel Analysis (SPA) that consisted of 2D wavelet denoising and single pixel plotted through time; Thermal Signal Reconstruction (TSR); and Pulsed
Phase Thermography (PPT) that implemented the inbuilt with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). 3D printed natural fibre composites offer sustainable and cost-effective solutions to material challenges. When considering combining natural fibres and 3D printing there are several manufacturing challenges that must be overcome. The focus of this research is to ascertain if active thermography is a suitable tool for online inspection of fibre reinforced filaments used for 3D printing composites. The aim of the inspection is to
identify fibre rich and fibre poor regions along the filament, where uniformly distributed fibres and heating along the filament are preferred. Regions with a locally high weight percent of fibres, known as a fibre bunch, can cause problems when used to print a part resulting in a waste of materials and failed print jobs. The paper presents a feasibility study showing the potential of using pulsed thermography to identify fibre bunching. An external heating stimulus is applied to the sample and an infrared detector is used to monitor the thermal decay. The thermal contrast produced by fibre bunches compared to regions of uniformly distributed fibres is used to identify potential problem areas and provide a means of quality control. Investigation includes variation of the heating stimulus, data collection and data processing routines. Flat bottom holes (FBH) and notches of the samples were easiest to detect, filaments mixed with fibres and salt were more challenging and difficult to detect, which will require further investigations.

text: Thermographic inspection to provide quality assurance for reinforced 3D printer filaments This research demonstrates the feasibility of active thermography in inspecting 3D printing filaments. Examine the potential of pulsed phase thermography in quality assurance of short and natural fibre reinforced polymer composites. Signal analysis scripts were built in Matlab to process the raw data recordings collected. These scripts included were; Single Pixel Analysis (SPA) that consisted of 2D wavelet denoising and single pixel plotted through time; Thermal Signal Reconstruction (TSR); and Pulsed
Phase Thermography (PPT) that implemented the inbuilt with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). 3D printed natural fibre composites offer sustainable and cost-effective solutions to material challenges. When considering combining natural fibres and 3D printing there are several manufacturing challenges that must be overcome. The focus of this research is to ascertain if active thermography is a suitable tool for online inspection of fibre reinforced filaments used for 3D printing composites. The aim of the inspection is to
identify fibre rich and fibre poor regions along the filament, where uniformly distributed fibres and heating along the filament are preferred. Regions with a locally high weight percent of fibres, known as a fibre bunch, can cause problems when used to print a part resulting in a waste of materials and failed print jobs. The paper presents a feasibility study showing the potential of using pulsed thermography to identify fibre bunching. An external heating stimulus is applied to the sample and an infrared detector is used to monitor the thermal decay. The thermal contrast produced by fibre bunches compared to regions of uniformly distributed fibres is used to identify potential problem areas and provide a means of quality control. Investigation includes variation of the heating stimulus, data collection and data processing routines. Flat bottom holes (FBH) and notches of the samples were easiest to detect, filaments mixed with fibres and salt were more challenging and difficult to detect, which will require further investigations.

year: 2020

title: Marks of conscious engagement when performing a motor task with or without a robotic arm

authors: Wright, Madison

subjects: conscious control

abstract: Utilizing prosthetic limbs effectively and alleviating the conscious burden through
minimizing conscious control is important to address and understand in the ever-changing
world of technology. Prosthetics can be difficult to learn how to use effectively and using them
increases conscious awareness which is termed a burden. The conscious burden prosthetics
have on users is consistently addressed by a multitude of studies and garners for more in depth
research to understand and identify solutions to alleviate this burden. Conscious motor control
is defined as the level of awareness of an individual performing a movement related skill or
task, where the higher the conscious control the more an individual is thinking of their
movements while executing them. The aim of this thesis was to measure conscious burden
objectively by examining the marks of conscious engagement when performing a reaction time
task with and without a robotic arm.

Chapter 1 is an introduction to this thesis including a literature review of relevant topics
such as prosthetic limbs, conscious movement control, subjective and objective measurements
of conscious movement control and electroencephalography (EEG). Prosthetic rejection rates,
conscious burden and prosthetic limb learning are also addressed. The outline of the experiment
for this thesis is included and discussed more in depth in Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 is the experiment in full examining the level of conscious control while
participating in a reaction time based motor learning task using a robotic arm versus own arm.
There were two conditions, the complex condition (multi-choice) and simple condition (single
choice). A secondary task of tone counting was included in half the trials to examine whether
more conscious processing is involved when working with the robotic arm versus normal arm
while doing the reaction time task. It was expected that there would be higher conscious control
and slower reaction times when participants used the robotic arm compared to their own arm.

EEG was used to assess the connectivity between the left temporal verbal-analytical (T7) site
and the motor planning mid-frontal (Fz) site of the brain. Connectivity of T7-Fz is used to
measure the verbal-analytical engagement in motor planning which is then used to measure
conscious control. The results revealed the complex condition had a significantly higher
reaction time dual-task cost for arm compared to robotic arm and a higher T7-Fz connectivity
dual-cost (difference in performance for single versus dual task) for the robotic arm in the
complex condition compared to simple condition. We concluded that use of a robotic arm
increases verbal-analytical engagement when performing a motor task compared to using the
own arm.

Chapter 3 is the overall discussion of the experimental findings for the use of robotic
arms in reaction time tasks measuring conscious control and what it may mean for future
research. Implicit motor learning is discussed as well as implicit motor learning interventions
such as dual-task learning, analogy learning and errorless learning. There are also other
learning interventions to promote intuitive control in prosthetic limb learning such as gaze
training and neurofeedback.

text: Marks of conscious engagement when performing a motor task with or without a robotic arm Utilizing prosthetic limbs effectively and alleviating the conscious burden through
minimizing conscious control is important to address and understand in the ever-changing
world of technology. Prosthetics can be difficult to learn how to use effectively and using them
increases conscious awareness which is termed a burden. The conscious burden prosthetics
have on users is consistently addressed by a multitude of studies and garners for more in depth
research to understand and identify solutions to alleviate this burden. Conscious motor control
is defined as the level of awareness of an individual performing a movement related skill or
task, where the higher the conscious control the more an individual is thinking of their
movements while executing them. The aim of this thesis was to measure conscious burden
objectively by examining the marks of conscious engagement when performing a reaction time
task with and without a robotic arm.

Chapter 1 is an introduction to this thesis including a literature review of relevant topics
such as prosthetic limbs, conscious movement control, subjective and objective measurements
of conscious movement control and electroencephalography (EEG). Prosthetic rejection rates,
conscious burden and prosthetic limb learning are also addressed. The outline of the experiment
for this thesis is included and discussed more in depth in Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 is the experiment in full examining the level of conscious control while
participating in a reaction time based motor learning task using a robotic arm versus own arm.
There were two conditions, the complex condition (multi-choice) and simple condition (single
choice). A secondary task of tone counting was included in half the trials to examine whether
more conscious processing is involved when working with the robotic arm versus normal arm
while doing the reaction time task. It was expected that there would be higher conscious control
and slower reaction times when participants used the robotic arm compared to their own arm.

EEG was used to assess the connectivity between the left temporal verbal-analytical (T7) site
and the motor planning mid-frontal (Fz) site of the brain. Connectivity of T7-Fz is used to
measure the verbal-analytical engagement in motor planning which is then used to measure
conscious control. The results revealed the complex condition had a significantly higher
reaction time dual-task cost for arm compared to robotic arm and a higher T7-Fz connectivity
dual-cost (difference in performance for single versus dual task) for the robotic arm in the
complex condition compared to simple condition. We concluded that use of a robotic arm
increases verbal-analytical engagement when performing a motor task compared to using the
own arm.

Chapter 3 is the overall discussion of the experimental findings for the use of robotic
arms in reaction time tasks measuring conscious control and what it may mean for future
research. Implicit motor learning is discussed as well as implicit motor learning interventions
such as dual-task learning, analogy learning and errorless learning. There are also other
learning interventions to promote intuitive control in prosthetic limb learning such as gaze
training and neurofeedback.

year: 2024

title: The development of guidelines for indigenous research ethics in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

authors: Hudson, Maui

abstract: The development of Indigenous frameworks for research ethics has been a key component of progressing Indigenous aspirations for research around the world. They have provided a focal point for challenging approaches to research that prioritise non-Indigenous methods and values, and allow non-Indigenous researchers to claim expert status over Indigenous peoples, places and knowledges. The theme of self-determination underpins contemporary approaches to Indigenous development and the repositioning of state-Indigenous nation relationships. This paper describes the background, development, and implementation by Māori communities and researchers of an Indigenous ethical framework in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

text: The development of guidelines for indigenous research ethics in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The development of Indigenous frameworks for research ethics has been a key component of progressing Indigenous aspirations for research around the world. They have provided a focal point for challenging approaches to research that prioritise non-Indigenous methods and values, and allow non-Indigenous researchers to claim expert status over Indigenous peoples, places and knowledges. The theme of self-determination underpins contemporary approaches to Indigenous development and the repositioning of state-Indigenous nation relationships. This paper describes the background, development, and implementation by Māori communities and researchers of an Indigenous ethical framework in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

year: 2016