121 research outputs found
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Where and how 3D printing is used in teaching and education
The emergence of additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies is introducing industrial skills deficits and opportunities for new teaching practices in a range of subjects and educational settings. In response, research investigating these practices is emerging across a wide range of education disciplines, but often without reference to studies in other disciplines. Responding to this problem, this article synthesizes these dispersed bodies of research to provide a stateāofātheāart literature review of where and how 3D printing is being used in the education system. Through investigating the application of 3D printing in schools, universities, libraries and special education settings, six use categories are identified and described: (1) to teach students about 3D printing; (2) to teach educators about 3D printing; (3) as a support technology during teaching; (4) to produce artefacts that aid learning; (5) to create assistive technologies; and (6) to support outreach activities. Although evidence can be found of 3D printingābased teaching practices in each of these six categories, implementation remains immature, and recommendations are made for future research and education policy.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [number EP/K039598/1]
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Decision trees for implementing Rapid Manufacturing for Mass Customisation
This paper aims to (1) compare implementation considerations and challenges for metal and polymer rapid manufacturing (i.e. the use of additive manufacturing technologies for final part production) for mass customisation and (2) derive decision trees for firms seeking to implement such an approach. Implementation data from 10 case studies from the dental and hearing aid industries has been captured and used as the basis for the comparison and design of the decision trees. Our objective is to provide evidence on the use of additive manufacturing technologies as enablers for mass customisation and to provide practitioners in industry with guidelines for decision-making on how to install and ramp-up mass customisation production with these technologies. Common considerations and challenges for both metal and polymer applications have been identified. Based on these insights, eight implementation decision trees have been created and represent the main contribution of this paper
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A review of research on the role and effectiveness of business incubation for technology-based start-ups
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of current knowledge on the role and
effectiveness of business incubation in supporting the development of new firms with high
growth potential. The quantitative and qualitative literature published by the academic and
practitioner communities is reviewed. From analysis of this literature, the following
conclusions are drawn:
ā¢ In academic and practitioner publications alike there is widespread definitional and
conceptual ambiguity in relation to business incubation.
ā¢ Given the variety of business incubator strategies, business models, stakeholders, et
al., there is no standard measure for assessing incubator performance. The validity,
comparability and generalisability of published findings of incubator performance need
to be carefully considered.
ā¢ As the incubation industry has matured so understanding of its core purpose has
become more sophisticated.
ā¢ Research on business incubation needs to be considered in the context of other bodies
of knowledge; in particular cluster theory, regional innovation systems,
entrepreneurship, investment, and firm growth.
These conclusions point to areas of further research including the development of comparable
performance indicators ā not absolute performance measures ā for business incubation; the
need to integrate incubation research more effectively within established areas of research;
the linking the activities of business incubation to new ventures in emerging industries; and
research on the provision of incubation services for device-based or other physical productbased start-ups
Unlocking value for a circular economy through 3D printing: A research agenda
The circular economy (CE) aims to radically improve resource efficiency by eliminating the concept of waste and leading to a shift away from the linear take-make-waste model. In a CE, resources are flowing in a circular manner either in a biocycle (biomass) or technocycle (inorganic materials). While early studies indicate that 3D printing (3DP) holds substantial promise for sustainability and the creation of a CE, there is no guarantee that it will do so. There is great uncertainty regarding whether the current trajectory of 3DP adoption is creating more circular material flows or if it is leading to an alternative scenario in which less eco-efficient localised production, demands for customised goods, and a higher rate of product obsolescence combine to bring about increased resource consumption. It is critical that CE principles are embedded into the new manufacturing system before the adoption of 3DP reaches a critical inflection point in which negative practices become entrenched. This paper, authored by both academic and industry experts, proposes a research agenda to determine enablers and barriers for 3DP to achieve a CE. We explore the two following overarching questions to discover what specific issues they entail: (1) How can a more distributed manufacturing system based on 3DP create a circular economy of closed-loop material flows? (2) What are the barriers to a circular 3D printing economy? We specifically examine six areas-design, supply chains, information flows, entrepreneurship, business models and education-with the aim of formulating a research agenda to enable 3DP to reach its full potential for a CE
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