Sustainability Assessment of Products manufactured by the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) Process

Assessing the sustainability of a product is dependent on considering individual product life cycle data. Based on the information on material, energy and information flows, evaluation tools such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) or the calculation of the cumulative energy consumption can be used. Especially the methodology of LCA according to ISO 14040/44 allows a selection of alternative analysis and measurement cycles as well as a combination of impact assessment indicators that have a direct and significant influence on sustainability. The comparison of various manufacturing processes allows the identification of relations between the applied evaluation tools and the product- as well as process-specific parameters during the production phase, and throughout the entire product life cycle. Within the various case studies considered, a distinction can be made both between the definition and the indicators of sustainability and between the ecological, economic or social dimensions within the motivation formulated. This paper describes the results of the literature review on the sustainability assessment of additive manufacturing processes in general as well as the Laser Powder Bed Fusion process as an example. A research map shows which phases of the product life cycle of an additive manufactured component are considered and which methods can be used to assess their sustainability. The result is a summary of the state of the art regarding the methods of sustainability assessment of additive manufacturing processes. In addition, an outlook can be determined on how the different phases of the product life cycle can be evaluated with tools that currently receive less attention

Structuring and Provision of Manufacturing knowledge through the Manufacturing Resource Ontology

One challenge in manufacturing-integrated product development is the accessibility of the required manufacturing knowledge. Here, ontologies offer the possibility to structure and formalize information in the form of a knowledge base in order to act as a generic interface to the manufacturing and design specific systems. This paper describes the development of a generic knowledge base called MARON (MAnufacturing Restriction ONtology) for the structured representation of manufacturing restrictions via formalized manufacturing capabilities. Using the example of an expert system for process element-oriented manufacturability analysis, it is shown how MARON contributes to automated decision support in the context of manufacturing-oriented design

Quality Assessment for Research Data Management in Research Projects

Maturity models to assess research data management (RDM) in engineering research projects. For this purpose, individual maturity models are developed for identified process areas that include RDM activities based on their occurrence in the research process. These enable a qualitative assessment on discrete maturity levels, from an initial state to an optimizing final state. Researchers are primarily responsible for meeting the requirements of research data management, which is why the maturity models are aimed directly at the researchers in the research project and enable self-assessment. The individual maturity models follow a defined maturity structure with five maturity levels from an undefined, reactive stage to continuous improvement and active participation in the research community. This work thus shows the structural framework of the maturity models to be developed and offers an implementation of research data management in the research process.The authors would like to thank the Federal Government and the Heads of Government of the Länder, as well as the Joint Science Conference (GWK), for their funding and support within the framework of the NFDI4Ing consortium. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - project number 442146713

Mouse brain proteomics establishes MDGA1 and CACHD1 as in vivo substrates of the Alzheimer protease BACE1.

The protease beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) has fundamental functions in the nervous system. Its inhibition is a major therapeutic approach in Alzheimer's disease, because BACE1 cleaves the amyloid precursor protein (APP), thereby catalyzing the first step in the generation of the pathogenic amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide. Yet, BACE1 cleaves numerous additional membrane proteins besides APP. Most of these substrates have been identified in vitro, but only few were further validated or characterized in vivo. To identify BACE1 substrates with in vivo relevance, we used isotope label-based quantitative proteomics of wild type and BACE1-deficient (BACE1 KO) mouse brains. This approach identified known BACE1 substrates, including Close homolog of L1 and contactin-2, which were found to be enriched in the membrane fraction of BACE1 KO brains. VWFA and cache domain-containing protein 1 (CACHD)1 and MAM domain-containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein 1 (MDGA1), which have functions in synaptic transmission, were identified and validated as new BACE1 substrates in vivo by immunoblots using primary neurons and mouse brains. Inhibition or deletion of BACE1 from primary neurons resulted in a pronounced inhibition of substrate cleavage and a concomitant increase in full-length protein levels of CACHD1 and MDGA1. The BACE1 cleavage site in both proteins was determined to be located within the juxtamembrane domain. In summary, this study identifies and validates CACHD1 and MDGA1 as novel in vivo substrates for BACE1, suggesting that cleavage of both proteins may contribute to the numerous functions of BACE1 in the nervous system