A new method to hermetically seal FDM prints applied to pressure vessels and clean room-grade wafer holders

A new method to hermetically seal FDM prints applied to pressure vessels and clean room-grade wafer holders | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A new method to hermetically seal FDM prints applied to pressure vessels and clean room-grade wafer holders Arthur Bond, Aarya Desai, Will Finch, Andriy Dotsenko, Oliver Moreno, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674568/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a new method to print hermetically sealed fused deposition modeling (HS-FDM) test articles in air, at ambient pressures, using conventional FDM printers, and without any cumbersome post-processing techniques. While FDM prints are notoriously porous, HS-FDM test articles withstand at least 3,000 psi, a limit set in this work only by safety concerns during testing. A side-by-side comparison of FDM and HS-FDM test articles with identical geometries reveals a 200-fold improvement in the high-pressure air leak rate time constant. It is the first time that 3D-printed pressure vessels sustain such high pressures. The pressurized volume is 7mL; the hermetic sealing method scales to larger volumes. Because the stress level that compromises the vessel's structural integrity is unknown, we did not attempt to pressurize larger test articles. Instead, we verified their hermiticity by immersing the larger prints in common acids and solvents. Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6674568","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":491370664,"identity":"5d2ce8ff-4061-4de4-be13-b1b97a56d869","order_by":0,"name":"Arthur Bond","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"EngeniusMicro (United States)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arthur","middleName":"","lastName":"Bond","suffix":""},{"id":491370665,"identity":"5b53c162-6972-4eae-8c87-4ea6a40df5b9","order_by":1,"name":"Aarya Desai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"GSMT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aarya","middleName":"","lastName":"Desai","suffix":""},{"id":491370666,"identity":"7b279d12-369a-425d-a4b9-e916b77a8946","order_by":2,"name":"Will Finch","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"EngeniusMicro (United States)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Will","middleName":"","lastName":"Finch","suffix":""},{"id":491370667,"identity":"87a4c42b-5f88-497d-a9dc-4c4c93bbaf51","order_by":3,"name":"Andriy Dotsenko","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"EngeniusMicro (United States)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andriy","middleName":"","lastName":"Dotsenko","suffix":""},{"id":491370668,"identity":"42afc1b0-18c5-4902-8132-245f1d9d2b83","order_by":4,"name":"Oliver Moreno","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"EngeniusMicro (United States)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oliver","middleName":"","lastName":"Moreno","suffix":""},{"id":491370669,"identity":"b40af378-e7e1-46ee-9954-67f747c19998","order_by":5,"name":"Benoit Hamelin","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"EngeniusMicro (United States)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Benoit","middleName":"","lastName":"Hamelin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-15 16:38:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674568/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674568/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104399541,"identity":"fd7b8345-a130-46a1-b252-5e5f51776417","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:06:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1932188,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"HermeticallySealedPrintsSci.Rep.May2025Errorsremoved.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6674568/v1_covered_2d037fcb-d926-4192-9fb8-f341604e835e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A new method to hermetically seal FDM prints applied to pressure vessels and clean room-grade wafer holders","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674568/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674568/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper presents a new method to print hermetically sealed fused deposition modeling (HS-FDM) test articles in air, at ambient pressures, using conventional FDM printers, and without any cumbersome post-processing techniques. 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