Hand-arm vibration exposure is a recognized occupational hazard that can cause discomfort and long-term disorders. While anti-vibration gloves are commonly used to reduce these effects, their effectiveness is often limited by the stiffness of the materials and structural constraints. This study focuses on the development and evaluation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)- based anti-vibration layers with varying internal structures for use in anti-vibration gloves. We prepared three types of PDMS layers: solid PDMS without pores (SPDMS), porous PDMS foam created through a sugar-leaching process (FPDMS), and a hybrid PDMS structure that combines solid and porous layers (HPDMS), all shaped like palms. These PDMS layers were integrated into glove specimens, and their vibration transmissibility was assessed using a measurement system compliant with ISO 10819:2013. Vibration transmissibility was recorded across one-third octave bands from 25 to 1,250 Hz, and frequency-weighted transmissibility values were calculated for both the M- and H-spectra. The results indicate that PDMSbased anti-vibration layers with controlled porosity can be effectively fabricated and incorporated into glove structures, and that variations in internal porosity significantly impact the measured vibration transmissibility characteristics.
Recent developments in additive manufacturing (AM) process have led us to fabricate many mechanical and electrical components or devices into complex geometries. Within existing AM processes, laser is widely used as an energy source to selectively sinter particles with a powder bed fusion (PBF) process or cure photopolymers with a vat photopolymerization (VPP) process. This study investigated the applicability of the SLS process for silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs)-photopolymer inks to fabricate micro-scale conductive patterns. With Ag NPs-photopolymer inks prepared with different mixture ratios and pasted on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal-controlled 405 nm laser was applied to these inks to selectively sinter and cure the Ag NPs and the photopolymer simultaneously. The final conductive patterns were obtained after a rinse in ethanol to remove un-sintered and un-cured regions of the inks. Microstructures, thickness profiles, pattern width, electrical resistance, and resistivity of the fabricated patterns were investigated by varying the PWM duty and the laser exposure time. Effects of different numbers of scan lines in the pattern and nanoparticle mixture ratios were also investigated. The proposed method is cost effective and easy with fast patterning capabilities. It will leverage practical advances in AM industries.