A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

A techno-economic approach for decision-making in metal additive manufacturing: metal extrusion versus single and multiple laser powder bed fusion

This work presents a decision-making methodology that allows the merging of quantitative and qualitative decision variables for selecting the optimal metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. The approach is applied on two competing technologies in the field of metal AM industry, i.e., the metal extrusion AM process (metal FFF) and the Laser Powder Bed Fusion process (LPBF) with single and multiple lasers, which represent the benchmark solution currently on the market. A comprehensive techno-economical comparison is presented where the two processes are analysed in terms of process capabilities (quality, easiness of use, setup time, range of possible materials, etc.) and costs, considering two different production scenarios and different parts’ geometries. In the first scenario, the AM system is assumed to be dedicated to one single part production while in this second scenario, the AM system is assumed to be saturated, as devoted to producing a wide mix of part types. For each scenario, two different part types made of 17–4 PH stainless steel are considered as a reference to investigate the effect of shape complexity, part size and production times to select the best technology when metal FFF and LPBF must be considered. The first part type refers to an extrusion die, to represent typical shapes of interest in the tooling industry, while the second part type is an impeller which can be used in many different industrial sectors, ranging from oil and gas to aerospace. In order to include quantitative and qualitative criteria, a decision-making model based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed as the enabler tool for decision making. The proposed approach allows to determine the most effective solution depending on the different production configurations and part types and can be used as a guideline and extended to include other technologies in the field of metal AM. On the other side, the critical discussion of the criteria selected, and the results achieved allow to highlight the pros and cons of the competing technologies, thus defining the existing limits to define directions for future research

Description of additive manufacturing and literature review ----- It's title in English: Az additív termelés leírása és irodalomfeldolgozás

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) technology holds several opportunities for production companies and supply chains delivering physical goods to their customers. Instead of discussing the technical details of this engineering challenge, this working paper focuses on the business potentials of the technology by briefly describing AM, and reviewing the relevant literature dealing with AM and supply chain management at the same time. ----- Absztrakt: Az additív termelési (AM) technológia számos lehetőséget tartogat termelő vállalatok és ellátási láncok számára, amelyek fizikai termékeket állítanak elő végső fogyasztóik számára. A technológia mérnöki kihívásainak technikai részletezése helyett ez a műhelytanulmány a technológia üzleti lehetőségeire összpontosít, röviden körülítva az AM-et, és áttekintve az AM-hez kapcsolódó ellátási lánc menedzsment irodalmat

A Guide to Additive Manufacturing

This open access book gives both a theoretical and practical overview of several important aspects of additive manufacturing (AM). It is written in an educative style to enable the reader to understand and apply the material. It begins with an introduction to AM technologies and the general workflow, as well as an overview of the current standards within AM. In the following chapter, a more in-depth description is given of design optimization and simulation for AM in polymers and metals, including practical guidelines for topology optimization and the use of lattice structures. Special attention is also given to the economics of AM and when the technology offers a benefit compared to conventional manufacturing processes. This is followed by a chapter with practical insights into how AM materials and processing parameters are developed for both material extrusion and powder bed fusion. The final chapter describes functionally graded AM in various materials and technologies. Throughout the book, a large number of industrial applications are described to exemplify the benefits of AM

A review

Funding Information: Radu Godina acknowledges Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia ( FCT - MCTES) for its financial support via the project UIDP/00667/2020 and UIDB/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). JPO acknowledges funding by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the projects LA/P/0037/2020 , UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication – i3N. This activity has received funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) – Project Smart WAAM: Microstructural Engineering and Integrated Non-Destructive Testing . This body of the European Union receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The AuthorsGrowing consciousness regarding the environmental impacts of additive manufacturing (AM) processes has led to research focusing on quantifying their environmental impacts using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The main objective of this paper is to review the state of the art of the existing LCA studies of AM processes. In this paper, a systematic literature review is carried out where a total of 77 papers focusing on LCA, including social-Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), are analyzed. Accordingly, the application of LCA methodology to different AM technologies was studied and different research themes such as the goal and scope of LCA studies, life cycle inventory data for different AM technologies, AM part quality and mechanical properties, the environmental, economic, and social performances of various AM technologies, and factors affecting AM´s sustainability potential were analyzed. Based on the critical analysis of the existing research, five major shortcomings of the existing research are realized: (i) some AM technologies are under studied; (ii) more focus only on the environmental sustainability dimension of AM, neglecting its economic and social dimensions; (iii) exclusion of AM pat quality and its mechanical performance from the sustainability assessment; (iv) not enough focus on the life cycle stages after product manufacture by AM; (v) effect of different product variables on AM´s sustainability not studied extensively. Lastly, based on these shortcomings realized, the following research directions for future works are suggested: (i) inclusion of new AM materials and technologies; (ii) transition to a triple-bottom-line sustainability assessment considering environmental, economic, and social dimensions of AM; (iii) extending the scope of LCA studies to post-manufacture stages of AM products; (iv) development of predictive environmental impact and cost models; (v) integration of quality and mechanical characterization with sustainability assessment of AM technologies.publishersversionpublishe

SIMULATING CONSUMABLE ORDER FULFILLMENT VIA ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES

Operational availability of naval aircraft through material readiness is critical to ensuring combat power. Supportability of aircraft is a crucial aspect of readiness, influenced by several factors including access to 9B Cognizance Code (COG) aviation consumable repair parts at various supply echelons. Rapidly evolving additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are transforming supply chain dynamics and the traditional aircraft supportability construct. As of June 2022, there are 595 AM assets within the Navy’s inventory—all for research and development purposes. This report simulates 9B COG aviation consumable fulfillment strategies within the U.S. Indo-Pacific sustainment network for a three-year span, inclusive of traditional supply support avenues and a developed set of user-variable capability inputs. Simulated probabilistic demand configurations are modeled from historical trends that exploit a heuristic methodology to assign a “printability” score to each 9B COG requirement, accounting for uncertainty, machine failure rates, and other continuous characteristics of the simulated orders. The results measure simulated lead time across diverse planning horizons in both current and varied operationalized AM sustainment network configurations. This research indicates a measurable lead time reduction of approximately 10% across all 9B order lead times when AM is employed as an order fulfillment source for only 0.5% of orders.NPS Naval Research ProgramThis project was funded in part by the NPS Naval Research Program.Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Ono: an open platform for social robotics

In recent times, the focal point of research in robotics has shifted from industrial ro- bots toward robots that interact with humans in an intuitive and safe manner. This evolution has resulted in the subfield of social robotics, which pertains to robots that function in a human environment and that can communicate with humans in an int- uitive way, e.g. with facial expressions. Social robots have the potential to impact many different aspects of our lives, but one particularly promising application is the use of robots in therapy, such as the treatment of children with autism. Unfortunately, many of the existing social robots are neither suited for practical use in therapy nor for large scale studies, mainly because they are expensive, one-of-a-kind robots that are hard to modify to suit a specific need. We created Ono, a social robotics platform, to tackle these issues. Ono is composed entirely from off-the-shelf components and cheap materials, and can be built at a local FabLab at the fraction of the cost of other robots. Ono is also entirely open source and the modular design further encourages modification and reuse of parts of the platform