Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) is at the verge of being recognised as one of the main manufacturing methods among the traditional ones. The largest obstacle in using AM in the companies is the lack of knowledge about the possibilities of the technology. One sub-problem caused by this is the lack of qualified machine operators in companies due to the insufficient AM education. This indicates the need for strengthen the current AM education especially in the B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels in engineering education by emphasising the importance of AM in curriculum development. This study presents novel learning outcomes based on the needs of manufacturing industry and companies in Finland. A questionnaire was conducted to work-life representatives in order to map the requirements for AM education in the mechanical engineering degree of the Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Finland. The responds were collected as competences representing different areas of AM knowledge and the learning outcomes were derived from the responds. AM education must also provide a model for selecting the most suitable AM technology in order for students to learn the technological aspects. This study also presents a process selection model which can be used in AM education. The model allows the student to compare different AM technologies from different perspectives such as material, functionality and visual appearance point-of-view.
 
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Highlights
This study presents the creation of learning outcomes for the education of additive manufacturing (AM) based on the requirements and needs of work-life in the field of manufacturing industry in Northern Finland
This study concentrates on only to the definition of competence groups and learning outcomes concerning AM education and not to the whole curriculum process. The reason for this is that one main goal of this study is to present learning outcomes for AM education needed in implementing it into engineering curriculum
In order to increase the AM processes in the manufacturing industry, qualified machine operators are needed in addition to the AM knowledge
Summary
This study presents the creation of learning outcomes for the education of additive manufacturing (AM) based on the requirements and needs of work-life in the field of manufacturing industry in Northern Finland. A novel process selection model for selecting the most suitable AM technology is introduced in this study. The model is especially meant for users in the beginning of AM learning path to facilitate the selection between the most suitable AM manufacturing process. AM is a manufacturing method where data is extracted from 3D model in layers This data is used in the AM process where material is joined together layer by layer with selected technology. The term AM is officially used when discussing more advanced and expensive industrial type of 3D printers. The synonym for AM is 3D printing which is usually connected to AM equipment below the classification of these more advanced and expensive printers (SFSEN ISO/ASTM 52900, 2017)
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