Anteprojeto de uma prótese passiva de pé fabricada por manufatura aditiva

Abstract

Additive manufacturing is a widely used manufacturing process for the production of some mechanical components, including biotechnologies. The piece can be made up of various materials, including thermoplastics with different mechanical properties. Prostheses are an example of a component that can be developed in this way, including passive foot prostheses. To achieve the goal, four geometries were designed, which were altered to achieve the proposed goal. The proposed geometries in this thesis have curvatures, with the function of cushioning the impact during walking. When the load is applied to the top of the prosthesis, the curvatures deform, like a spring, to cushion the impact. The models were simulated using Finite Elements Model to analyze the responses they would provide after the application of loads. During each simulation, the points that could be changed to increase displacement and provide stability for the prosthesis were observed. The final model presented a deformation of 8,775 mm, which represents a growth of 3.19x in relation to the deformation of the first model. In addition, the PETG model presented a good margin of safety in the computational model, according to the Tsai-Hill criterion. Only after several simulations, two geometries were prototyped, one in PLA and one in PETG, to understand how each one behaves when the load is applied. Finally, compression tests were performed, with the objective of discovering how the prototypes would respond and comparing them to the computational models.