Additive Manufacturing Solution Research Articles

A Systematic Review of Additive Manufacturing Solutions Using Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Big Data, Digital Twins and Blockchain Technologies: A Technological Perspective Towards Sustainability

A Systematic Review of Additive Manufacturing Solutions Using Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Big Data, Digital Twins and Blockchain Technologies: A Technological Perspective Towards Sustainability

Point-of-Need Additive Manufacturing in Austere Arctic Environments: An Evaluation of Medical Logistics Requirements and Capabilities Demonstration.

Medical response to military conflicts, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises are challenged by operational logistics with unreliable supply chains, delayed medical evacuation, and compatibility of the disparate medical equipment and consumables. In these environments, stocks of supplies will become more quickly depleted and the need for equipment parts increases secondary to their higher likelihood for failure from overuse. Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, at or closer to the point-of-need provides potential solutions to mitigate these logistics challenges. AM's ability to tailor the resultant product through computer design enables real-time modification of a product to meet a specific situation. In this study, we deployed two different 3D printers to an arctic locale to demonstrate the utility of 3D printing and bioprinting in austere environments. Deployment of AM solutions in austere environments will likely impact medical care following natural disasters and conflicts with contested logistics. The work presented here furthers the readiness status of AM for use in austere environments to manufacture medical equipment parts and demonstrates its potential use for tissue engineering and advanced medical treatments in remote environments.

Near‐Nozzle Mixing for Additive Manufacturing of Cementitious Mortar: A Homogeneity Study

AbstractThis paper investigates the Near‐nozzle Mixing (NNM) technique for 3D printing cementitious mortar, focusing on achieving continuous and homogeneous material properties. The NNM's ability to print Natural Sand Mortar (NSM), Recycled Aggregate Mortar (RAM), and Lightweight Mortar (LWM) was assessed. Fresh and hardened properties of each mortar were examined, emphasizing standard deviation (STD) and coefficient of variation (CV) to measure material homogeneity. Fresh properties included slump flow, yield stress, air void volume, density, and water‐to‐cement ratio, while hardened properties covered compressive strength, flexural strength, hardened density, and thermal conductivity. Results showed low CV values for all mortar types, indicating high consistency and homogeneity. NNM showed is capability to print of various materials with customized properties. NSM showed the highest compressive strength, RAM balanced strength and sustainability, and LWM provided the best thermal insulation. The study highlights NNM's versatility and potential for construction applications requiring tailored properties, proving it a promising additive manufacturing solution. The research serves as a foundation for future studies on graded multi‐material printing.

An Integrated Workflow for Designing and Fabricating Multi-Functional Building Components through Additive Manufacturing with Clay

This article presents a project that explores the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for designing and fabricating multi-functional building components for improved climate performance. In this project, an innovative façade wall design was developed by using a computational method in an attempt to integrate a displacement ventilation system into the wall. A robotic AM solution is integrated into the workflow as a potentially feasible fabrication method for the resulting wall design with an intricate geometry. Clay is proposed as the AM material, being a potential low-carbon building material. To this end, a material exploration of clay was conducted to develop an appropriate composite for AM. A displacement ventilation system was developed to achieve better indoor air quality by using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Subsequently, an AM solution was integrated into the workflow to automate the fabrication phase. Finally, a partial prototype of the design was made through AM with clay to demonstrate the feasibility and observe the material qualities of the final product. The proposed workflow proves applicable, highlighting directions for future research.

Design Optimization of Components for Additive Manufacturing-Repair: An Exploration of Artificial Neural Network Requirements and Application

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in additive manufacturing (AM) technology is currently a promising and leading area of research for component repair and restoration. The Issues of high cost and time consumption for AM repair have been a subject of discussion among researchers in this field of study. Moreover, the potential challenges in dealing with complex components for repair and restoration in the (AM) domain require the establishment of a critical technical platform based on hybrid (AI). At this point, the proposed optimization method must cover all important parameters for the complex configuration of structural components under restoration. For the purpose of this study, a design optimization framework was developed using a MATLAB-SIMULINK mathematical model for AM solution purposes by improving the functionality and integration of monitoring. This improvement is based on facilitating the real-time identification of failures with accuracy and giving a clear monitoring vision according to the intended targets like geometric distortions, residual stresses evaluation, and defect characterization. The improvement involves overcoming a number of challenges such as the pre-fabrication stage by expanding the data repository besides offering a theoretical set of algorithmic with some options that improve the current procedure. Also, this study will conclude and suggest a further framework and new knowledge for restoration and product life cycle extension. This developed ANN can be used at the real pace of modeling the MATLAB-Simulink system and merged with another suitable algorithm to form a hybrid ANN. This model development using a neural network has attained a good manipulation of AM. The predicted data from ANN model that was determined and achieved in this study can be used to facilitate and enhance any further study as base knowledge in merging the ANN with another AI to form a hybrid algorithm.

Enhanced high-temperature mechanical properties of laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy via microstructure control

Recently, rapid and cost-effective additive manufacturing solutions for lightweight aluminum alloys with excellent high-temperature mechanical properties have been increasingly in demand. In this study, we combined laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing with solution and artificial aging treatments to achieve Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy with favorable high-temperature strength via microstructure control. Hydrogen pores became the major defect in the as-deposited and heat-treated specimens. The continuous distribution of eutectics with hard-brittle characteristics at the grain boundaries was destructed following heat treatment. High-density η′ precipitates were uniformly dispersed in the heat-treated Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy, whereas appeared coarsened and dissolved at 473 K, owing to the rapid diffusion of Zn and Mg. The average 0.2% yield strength (318 ± 16 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (362 ± 20 MPa) at 473 K after heat treatment were enhanced by approximately 58% and 51%, respectively, compared to those of the as-deposited specimen. In addition, the η′ precipitates contributed to lattice distortions and strain fields, which prevented dislocation motion and increased slip deformation resistance at high temperatures. The as-deposited specimen exhibited intergranular fracture at 473 K, with cracks preferring to propagate along the aggregated eutectics. However, crack propagation proceeded in the sections with more pores in the heat-treated specimen. Our approach may provide a valid option for achieving aluminum alloys with excellent high-temperature mechanical properties.

Laser–Direct Current arc Hybrid Additive Manufacturing of Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy: Microstructure Evaluation and Mechanical Properties

Recently, there has been a growing requirement for rapid and cost-effective additive manufacturing solutions for copper alloys with favorable mechanical properties. In this research, laser–direct current arc hybrid additive manufacturing (LAHAM) was employed to fabricate Cu-Cr-Zr alloy. By way of multi-scale characterization including SEM, EBSD and TEM, the effect of scanning speed on the microstructure was systematically investigated in detail. Moreover, an evaluation of mechanical properties was carried out. The results indicated that columnar grains grew across layers with the growth direction tending to the center of the molten pool. When the scanning speed increased from 250 mm/min to 350 mm/min, the proportion of high-angle grain boundaries exceeded 69% and reached a maximum of 79% at 300 mm/min. A large amount of Cr phase was precipitated from the Cu matrix. Both submicron and nanoscale Cr precipitates were observed. Statistically, the area proportion of Cr precipitates was up to 26.3% at 300 mm/min. The changes of heat input and remelting effects were the main reasons for the change in the precipitate level. As a result, the mechanical properties of the Cu-Cr-Zr alloy were enhanced via precipitation strengthening. When the scanning speed was 250 mm/min, the Cu-Cr-Zr alloy sample exhibited an ultimate tensile strength of 311.3 ± 7.8 MPa with an elongation of 38.6 ± 5.6%.

Structural optimisation for controlled deflections of additively manufactured single material beams

Closely controlling the mechanical behaviour and characterization of the deflection of a beam structure is a well-known and widely studied engineering problem. The progress in additive manufacturing methods and the possibilities to closely control the material property variations with the controlled placement of materials further widen the opportunities to achieve given beam deflection criteria. The multi-material additive manufacturing solutions suffer from the lack of real engineering material options, and the quality and performance of the printed parts are usually unsuitable for producing functional parts. A novel cellular structured solution is proposed here, which utilises optimisation of geometries of individual cells of a single material structured beam to obtain deflection profiles closely matched with preset conditions under different loading conditions. The cellular geometry of the structured beam is continually altered for searching and converging on the optimal structure of the cells by the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy algorithm in an iterative manner. The optimised beam structures could also be physically produced with single material additive manufacturing methods and the experimental and numerical beam deflection responses correlated closely.

A Case Study on Redesign & Printing Large-scale Wind Tunnel Experiment Models via Combined Additive Manufacturing Processes

While additive manufacturing (AM) offers the ability to produce complex, customized structures, it still faces limitations when it comes to printing large structures with different material sections. For the production of big-sized structures or products, traditional processes still hold the advantage in terms of cost, manufacturing time, and material compatibility. Additionally, identifying suitable parts for AM, particularly for a single AM process, can be challenging, especially those with large sizes and different material compositions. This paper proposes a modular hybrid AM solution that combines different AM processes to address the challenges associated with large-scale structure printing in AM. The study presents a case in which a metallic powder-bed-fusion process and a stereolithography process were used in combination to produce large-scale wind tunnel experimental models. A comparative analysis was conducted between the proposed approach and traditional manufacturing methods. The results demonstrate that, for large-scale cases such as wind tunnel models, a combination of multiple AM processes has the potential to improve performance/quality, reduce costs, and save time when compared to traditional processes. However, it is crucial to emphasize that the success of the hybrid approach depends heavily on the design and process planning.

Last technological advancement in additive manufacturing for cardiovascular applications.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has increasing applications in medicine in recent times. This technology has emerged in cardiovascular medicine as an intelligent system for the improvement of medical devices, the preparation of patient-specific models, and the prototyping of grafts. This review traces the research and development in the production of surgical guides and synthetic grafts for cardiac and vascular applications over the last few years. It also traces the recent widespread use of 3D-printed specific-patient models for cardiovascular surgical interventions. A current view of AM strategies, materials and solutions to improve cardiovascular patient outcomes is also provided.

A Review of Automotive Spare-Part Reconstruction Based on Additive Manufacturing

In the Industry 4.0 scenario, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies play a fundamental role in the automotive field, even in more traditional sectors such as the restoration of vintage cars. Car manufacturers and restorers benefit from a digital production workflow to reproduce spare parts that are no longer available on the market, starting with original components, even if they are damaged. This review focuses on this market niche that, due to its growing importance in terms of applications and related industries, can be a significant demonstrator of future trends in the automotive supply chain. Through selected case studies and industrial applications, this study analyses the implications of AM from multiple perspectives. Firstly, various types of AM processes are used, although some are predominant due to their cost-effectiveness and, therefore, their better accessibility and wide diffusion. In some applications, AM is used as an intermediate process to develop production equipment (so-called rapid tooling), with further implications in the digitalisation of conventional primary technologies and the entire production process. Secondly, the additive process allows for on-demand, one-off, or small-batch production. Finally, the ever-growing variety of spare parts introduces new problems and challenges, generating constant opportunities to improve the finish and performance of parts, as well as the types of processes and materials, sometimes directly involving AM solution providers.

AM Solutions for Large Metal Components

WAAM3D’s innovative new RoboWAAM metal additive manufacturing (AM) machine is helping users solve challenges; plus, McLaren Racing 3D prints 9,000 parts a year

How additive manufacturing drives business model change: The perspective of logistics service providers

Additive manufacturing (AM) is expected to facilitate local manufacturing in shorter, less complex supply chains and, thus, impact the demand for traditional logistics services. With increasing dissemination, AM confronts logistics service providers (LSPs) with the question of how they should adapt their business model to the threats and opportunities that come with the emerging digital technologies. We structure the AM activities of LSPs and develop a deep understanding of their resulting business model dynamics. For this exploratory purpose, this study develops a taxonomy and performs a cluster analysis to present six clusters of how LSPs approach AM today. The six profiles include LSPs that reactively monitor AM or, in contrast, proactively leverage AM for their internal operations and the development of new services for their external customers. Among them, four profiles entail fundamental changes to the traditional business models of LSPs. We find that these LSPs oftentimes continue to rely on their traditional “analog” service strengths to offer integrated service bundles of AM and logistics solutions. They bridge their lack of specific resources by strategic alliances with AM experts. Only a few LSPs have started severing ties to their traditional businesses to develop digitally dominated, platform-based AM services that require different resources. Overall, the comprehensive picture of AM activities enables us to contribute to the knowledge of how LSPs navigate in the digital age and to the nexus of business model dynamics and emerging technologies. We propose a set of propositions and support practitioners in analyzing and designing AM activities.

Rapid Response! Investigating the Effects of Problem Definition on the Characteristics of Additively Manufactured Solutions for COVID-19

Abstract Designers from around the world have proposed numerous engineering design solutions for problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of which leverage the rapid prototyping and manufacturing capabilities of additive manufacturing (AM). While some of these solutions are motivated by complex and urgent requirements (e.g., face masks), others are motivated by simpler and less urgent needs (e.g., hands-free door openers). Previous research suggests that problem definition influences the creativity of solutions generated for the problem. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the definition of problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the characteristics of AM solutions that were openly shared for these problems. Specifically, we analyze 26 AM solutions spanning three categories: (1) hands-free door openers (low complexity problem), (2) face shields (moderate complexity problem), and (3) face masks (high complexity problem). These designs were compared on (1) DfAM utilization, (2) manufacturability (i.e., build time, cost, and material usage), and (3) creativity. We see that the solutions designed for the high complexity problem, i.e., face masks, were least suitable for AM. Moreover, we see that solutions designed for the moderate complexity problem, i.e., face shields, had the lowest build time, build cost, and material consumption. Finally, we observe that the problem definition did not relate to the creativity of the AM solutions. In light of these findings, designers must sufficiently emphasize the AM suitability and manufacturability of their solutions when designing for urgent and complex problems in rapid response situations.

Development of Technical Creativity Featuring Modified TRIZ-AM Inventive Principle to Support Additive Manufacturing

Abstract The design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) processing was introduced to fully utilize the design freedom provided by additive manufacturing (AM). Consequently, appropriate design methodologies have become essential for this technology. Recently, many studies have identified the importance of DFAM method utilization to produce AM parts, and theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) is a strategy used to formalize design methodologies. TRIZ is a problem-solving tool developed to assist designers to find innovative and creative solutions. However, the pathway for synergizing TRIZ and DFAM is not clearly explained with respect to AM capabilities and complexities. This is mainly because most methods continue to involve use of the classical TRIZ principle, which was developed early in 1946, 40 years before AM technologies were introduced in the mid-1980s. Therefore, to tackle this issue, this study aims to enhance the 40 principles of classical TRIZ to accommodate AM design principles. A modified TRIZ-AM principle has been developed to define the pathway to AM solutions. TRIZ-AM cards are tools that assist designers to select inventive principles in the early phases of product design and development. The case study illustrates that even inexperienced AM users can creatively design innovative AM parts.

3D printing of clay paste enhanced by scrap polymer from powder bed processes

PurposePowder bed additive manufacturing processes are widespread due to their many technical and economic advantages. Nevertheless, the disposal of leftover powder poses a problem in terms of process sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative solution to recycle waste PA12 powder from HP multi jet fusion. In particular, the opportunity to use this material as a dispersion in three-dimensional (3D) printed clay is investigated.Design/methodology/approachA commercial fused deposition modelling printer was re-adapted to extrude a viscous paste composed of clay, PA12 and water. Once printed, parts were dried and then put in an oven to melt the polymer fraction. Four compositions with different PA12 concentration were studied. First, the extrudability of the paste was observed by testing different extrusion lengths. Then, the surface porosities were evaluated through microscopical observations of the manufactured parts. Finally, benchmarks with different geometries were digitalised via 3D scanning to analyse the dimensional alterations arising at each stage of the process.FindingsOverall, the feasibility of the process is demonstrated. Extrusion tests revealed that the composition of the paste has a minor influence on the volumetric flow rate, exhibiting a better consistency in the case of long extrusions. The percentage of surface cavities was proportional to the polymer fraction contained in the mix. From dimensional analyses, it was possible to conclude that PA12 reduced the degree of shrinkage during the drying phase, while it increased dimensional alterations occurring in the melting phase. The results showed that the dimensional error measured on the z-axis was always higher than that of the XY plane.Practical implicationsThe method proposed in this paper provides an alternative approach to reuse leftover powders from powder bed fusion processes via another additive manufacturing process. This offers an affordable and open-source solution to companies dealing with polymer powder bed fusion, allowing them to reduce their environmental impacts while expanding their production.Originality/valueThe paper presents an innovative additive manufacturing solution for powder reuse. Unlike the recycling methods in the body of literature, this solution does not require any intermediate transformation process, such as filament fabrication. Also, the cold material deposition enables the adoption of very inexpensive extrusion equipment. This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility and the benefits of this process, paving the way for numerous future studies.

Industry 4.0 for Steel Construction: an Outlook

AbstractIn the era of internet and robots, sophisticated devices and real‐time simulation, the construction sector remains highly dependent on manual labor which is also the main source of delays, lack of quality, and human injuries. The rapid development in technological areas such as mechatronics, computers, sensors, programming, human interfaces and artificial intelligence (AI) – offers huge potential for modern applications.Nowadays, additive manufacturing is rapidly growing, and it could offer efficient solutions for steel construction since it can be executed in any shape and scale. There are a few solutions in additive manufacturing technologies, which can process materials and produce components. However, there is a gap in the market for capacity to link the processed material conditions and characteristics to the production parameters in real‐time. Real‐time and cognitive re‐planning of the process parameters becomes significantly important when components with large‐scale and complex shapes are considered.This paper presents a summary of existing technologies for automatic construction process, it identifies the critical issues which hamper the adoption of new technologies in construction and describes an additive manufacturing solution currently being implemented.

Additive manufacturing in construction: A review on technologies, processes, materials, and their applications of 3D and 4D printing

In this paper, the current state of the art of additive manufacturing (AM) in the construction industry to manufacture on large scales is reviewed. The central concept of AM was defined, and it has been highlighted in the large use in several sectors. The main advantages that AM offers in the construction industry were described with at the same time the most important challenges that need to be addressed for real use. The main AM technologies solutions on large scales were described from more compact solutions like gantry technology to more flexible and free technology solutions. The choice of an AM solution rather than another is closely linked to the materials to be used and the building component to be built. Regarding materials, the research focused on materials based on aggregates, metals, and polymers. The application of AM in the construction field requires more studies and further research.

Selectively Metalizable Stereolithography Resin for Three-Dimensional DC and High-Frequency Electronics via Hybrid Additive Manufacturing.

Direct manufacturing of customized end-use electronic products is becoming an emerging trend of additive manufacturing (AM). This highly demands the evolution of the conventional AM processes from simply building single-material parts to simultaneously delivering complex structures and end-use functionalities. In this work, we propose a novel hybrid additive manufacturing solution that combines stereolithography (SLA) three-dimensional (3D) printing and laser-activated electroless plating for the manufacture of 3D fully functional electronic products. With our newly developed functional SLA resin that can be 3D printed, laser-activated, and thereafter selectively metalized, high-resolution circuitry can be free-formly patterned on 3D structures. In virtue of high-performance electrical materials, this technology is capable of creating not only 3D direct-current (DC) electronics but also 3D high-frequency devices like microwave/millimeter-wave antennas, which cannot be fabricated via traditional printed circuit board (PCB) technology and not even by most AM processes. This study represents a significant advance in additive manufacturing technologies, and more importantly offers a unique opportunity for the mass customization of fully functional 3D electronic products, which shows great potentials in consumer electronics, communication engineering, and automobile and aerospace industries.

Three-dimensional phononic crystal with ultra-wide bandgap at megahertz frequencies

Phononic crystals have attracted wide attention in diverse scientific communities due to their ability to efficiently reflect, focus, and guide acoustic and elastic waves. Their use in ultrasonic applications such as medical imaging, however, remains elusive since three-dimensional phononic crystals with lattice constants in the range of hundreds of micrometers are required to operate with MHz ultrasound, smaller than what most additive manufacturing solutions can provide. This work presents a three-dimensional phononic crystal with a cubic symmetry having an experimental ultra-wide complete bandgap extending from 0.6 MHz to 7.5 MHz. Crystal specimens are manufactured using two-photon lithography at the microscale, with a lattice constant of 300 μm, and are characterized using heterodyne interferometry.