Implementation Of Additive Manufacturing Research Articles

Implementation of Additive Manufacturing in the Healthcare Supply Chain for Circular Economy Goals: Paradoxical Tensions and Solutions from an Industry 5.0 Perspective

AbstractThis study addresses the paradoxical tensions that arise during additive manufacturing (AM) implementation for circular economy goals in the healthcare sector. Using the lens of paradox theory, this study identifies four competing priorities that stakeholders may encounter while adopting AM. Focus group discussions among 12 industry experts from the healthcare supply chain were conducted to verify the paradoxes. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with 10 industry experts to derive the solutions to manage these tensions from an Industry 5.0 perspective to achieve the full benefits of AM. This study expands paradox theory into the AM literature and provides a novel ‘both/and’ perspective (i.e. a pluralistic rather than a dualistic perspective) to look at emerging tensions encountered while implementing AM in the healthcare sector. This perspective will help decision-makers realise that these tensions can be managed over time to turn them into creative, rather than destructive, forces.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons' views on the adoption of additive manufacturing: findings from a nationwide survey.

Hospitals in many European countries have implemented Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology for multiple Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) applications. Although the technology is widely implemented, surgeons also play a crucial role in whether a hospital will adopt the technology for surgical procedures. The study has two objectives: (1) to investigate how hospital type (university or non-university hospital) influences surgeons' views on AM, and (2) to explore how previous experience with AM (AM experience or not) influences surgeons' views on AM. An online questionnaire to capture surgeons' views was designed, consisting of 11 Likert scale questions formulated according to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The questionnaire was sent to OMF surgeons through the channel provided by the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Sweden. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test to identify significant differences among OMF surgeons in terms of organizational form (i.e., university hospital or non-university hospital) and experience of AM (i.e., AM experience or no-experience). In total, 31 OMF surgeons responded to the survey. Views of surgeons from universities and non-universities, as well as between surgeons with experience and no-experience, did not show significant differences in the 11 questions captured across five CFIR domains. However, the "individual characteristics" domain in CFIR, consisting of three questions, did show significant differences between surgeons' experience with AM and no-experience (P-values: P = 0.01, P = 0.01, and P = 0.04). Surgeons, whether affiliated with university hospitals or non-university hospitals and regardless of their prior experience with AM, generally exhibit a favorable attitude towards AM. However, there were significant differences in terms of individual characteristics between those who had prior experience with AM and those who did not. This investigation facilitates the implementation of AM in OMFS by reporting on the views of OMF surgeons on AM.

Driving Sustainability: Carbon Footprint, 3D Printing, and Legislation concerning Electric and Autonomous Vehicles.

In recent years, there has been a remarkable development in the technology and legislation related to electric and autonomous vehicles (i.e., EVs/AVs). This technological advancement requires the deployment of the most up-to-date supporting infrastructure to achieve safe operation. Further infrastructure is needed for Level 5 vehicles, namely the introduction of super-fast wireless 5G technology. To achieve harmony between the rapid technological advancement of EVs/AVs and environmental preservation, enacting legislation related to their sustainable use is vital. Thus, this manuscript provides a review of the technological development of EVs/AVs, with a special focus on carbon footprints and the implementation of additive manufacturing using recycled materials. While EVs have a 12.13% increased carbon footprint compared to conventional vehicles, AVs with basic and advanced intelligence features have an increased carbon footprint of 41.43% and 99.65%, respectively. This article emphasizes that the integration of 3D-printed components has the potential to offset this impact with a substantial 60% reduction. As a result, custom-made solutions involving 3D printing are explored, leading to greater speed, customization, and cost-effectiveness for EVs/AVs. This article also lists the advantages and disadvantages of the existing legislation in Spain, the United Kingdom, and the western Balkans, demonstrating various approaches to promoting electric mobility and the development of autonomous vehicles. In Spain, initiatives like the MOVES program incentivize EV adoption, while the UK focuses on expanding the EV market and addressing concerns about EVs' quiet operation. In the western Balkans, the adoption of legislation lags behind, with limited incentives and infrastructure for EVs. To boost sales, legal mechanisms are necessary to reduce costs and improve accessibility, in addition to offering subsidies for the purchase of EVs. To this end, an analysis of the incentive measures proposed for the development and use of renewable power sources for the supply of energy for EVs/AVs is presented.

Data-driven review of additive manufacturing on supply chains: Regionalization, key research themes and future directions

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to greatly impact supply chains in a number of positive ways, particularly in regional and remote locations. This study aimed to identify the impact and application of AM on regional supply chains (RSCs) and address the associated challenges while promoting the sustainable use of this technology. Therefore, this study implemented a streamlined evaluation text mining method that employed Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA)-based modeling for robust content analysis. Over the past 19 years (2004–2022), there has been a significant increase in the number of journal articles that center on AM in supply chains. Through an extensive analysis of 341 published papers, five main research themes were identified: manufacturing, environment, costs, logistics, and maintenance. The identification of a gap in research in regional locations is significant as they often face unique challenges in their supply chains, such as limited access to technology and required infrastructure and the availability of resources. These challenges may have a different impact on the implementation of AM. Further, the possible impact of using AM in the recovery of RSCs after the COVID-19 pandemic is substantial and can bring about several positive sustainable changes, including increased responsiveness to changing demands, shorter production lead times, lower material usage and waste, customizability, localized production, energy efficiency, and reduced carbon dioxide and gas emissions.

Identifying strategic opportunities through the development of a roadmap for additive manufacturing: The example of Portugal

Additive Manufacturing (AM) demonstrates significant potential with rapid growth and widespread industrial adoption. To support the integration and innovation of AM technologies, the development of guidance tools and support methods are crucial, and a technological roadmap can assist in this effort. Despite its widespread use in production processes, the need for further research on the potential impact of AM remains significant. The full impact of AM is still uncertain and lacks consensus, highlighting the need for increased knowledge and investment from the scientific community and organizations. While the benefits of AM are recognized, the challenges of its adoption are not entirely known. AM will bring changes in the way organizations create, distribute, and derive value. Thus, in this article, a roadmap for AM is proposed and presented as a tool to map technological knowledge on the implementation and evolution of AM and serve as a strategic guide for organizations. The methodology for its elaboration involves three phases: planning and preparation, roadmap development, and review and update. Through a literature review, database and project consultation, and questionnaires to Portuguese companies that use AM in their production process it was possible to characterize the AM technology and through the visual format, based on a time horizon, summarize in a common framework all the information about the current and future state of AM in Portugal. The results of this study show that research and development initiatives are essential to promote the evolution of knowledge of the AM technology. Throughout this study and with the development of the roadmap it is anticipated that in the near future the AM will be widely used for prototyping and manufacturing of components and may be used for direct production in the short to medium term. It was also found that the main obstacles to the implementation of AM are the economic/productivity factors and the shortage of professionals with knowledge and skills in the area.

Evaluation of Innovation Capabilities for Implementation of Additive Manufacturing of Metals at a Production Center. A Case Study

Colombia enfrenta un cambio tecnológico, económico, ambiental y cultural de cara a la Cuarta Revolución Industrial, por tanto, desde el Gobierno Nacional y el Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA, se están realizando esfuerzos en la incorporación las tecnologías habilitadoras para un mundo digital e interconectado. Por eso, este trabajo busca identificar los grandes desafíos a los que se enfrenta el SENA frente a la aplicación de la Manufactura Aditiva con Metales o AMM por sus siglas en inglés Additive Manufacturing of Metals en los diferentes sectores de la economía y la puesta en marcha de programas de formación que aporten al desarrollo de la misma, para ello desarrolla un Estudio de Caso, que a través de una evaluación de capacidades identifica desafíos y propone un plan de acción a la institución. El resultado constituye una evidencia sobre los grandes retos que enfrenta el Centro de Manufactura Avanzada CTMA en la AMM, los hallazgos permiten identificar aspectos críticos en la implementación e identificación de tecnologías para empresas estratégicas en el sector de manufactura, además, el CTMA no cuenta con una estructura formal de AMM, planeación estratégica, procedimientos y responsables para canalizar la información y las demandas de la industria.

Alignment of design rules for additive manufacturing and remanufacturing

Remanufacturing is one key element of a circular economy by closing the loop on the product level and thus maintaining or restoring the product design and the associated product properties. The remanufacturing process chain involves disassembly of used products, cleaning of parts, inspection and sorting of parts, reconditioning or replenishment by new parts, and product reassembly into as-new products. If new parts are required, additive manufacturing is a promising alternative to conventional manufacturing or the purchase of spare parts. Additive manufacturing is characterized by the layered or element-based construction of parts and does not require product-specific tools, enabling a cost-efficient production of individual pieces or small series. The use of specific design rules in product and process development to meet the requirements of the intended process enables and simplifies additive manufacturing or remanufacturing. Despite the design rules for additive manufacturing and remanufacturing, there are no design rules for implementing additive manufacturing technology in the remanufacturing process. In this paper, existing design rules on Design for Additive Manufacturing and Design for Remanufacturing will first be identified and compared, and possible synergies and conflicts of objectives will be analyzed. Based on this, a guideline for a Design for Additive Remanufacturing is developed to facilitate and promote the implementation of additive manufacturing in remanufacturing. The developed design rules enable the evaluation of a part aimed to be produced by additive manufacturing within the remanufacturing process and give advice on how to optimize the design of the part. This paper aims to derive general design rules for a “Design for Additive Remanufacturing” that specifically address the additive remanufacturing process.

Optimization to Assist Design and Analysis of Temperature Control Strategies for Injection Molding-A Review.

Injection molding (IM) is the most widespread and economical way to obtain high-quality plastic components. The process depends, however, to a great extent, on the quality and efficiency of the injection molding tools. Given the nature of the IM process, the temperature control system (TCS), its design, and its efficiency are of utmost importance for achieving the highest possible quality of plastic parts in the shortest possible time. For that reason, the implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) in novel IM temperature control strategies has gained considerable interest in academia and industry over the years. Conformal cooling channels (CCCs) are TCSs that have already demonstrated great potential when compared to conventional gun-drilling systems. Nevertheless, despite the recent advances, the design of these systems is still an open field of study and requires additional research in both aspects deemed as critical: thermo-mechanical models and the application of optimization techniques. This review paper tackles all the relevant, available papers on this topic, highlighting thermo-mechanical models developed by TCS designers and the optimization techniques used. The articles were thoroughly analyzed, and key points on the design of new TCS and new opportunities were identified.

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of additive manufacturing in cardiology: A qualitative study

BackgroundAdditive manufacturing (AM) is a fast-developing technology with possible applications in cardiology. Existing research has identified two general factors that can influence implementing AM in cardiology: economics and technology. ObjectiveIn this study we aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing AM in cardiology. MethodsWe conducted a multiple case study of two Swedish cardiac surgery departments representing implementers and non-implementers of AM. We interviewed key stakeholders (n=8) who had been or were involved in implementing AM in cardiology or AM in general at the hospitals: cardiologists, physicians working with AM but not specialized in cardiology such as radiologists, company representatives, and individuals involved in the 3D-printing facilities. A combination of an inductive and deductive approach was used to analyze the interviews. ResultsSeveral barriers and facilitators influenced implementing AM in cardiology. Most barriers (n=4) were related to innovation factors, whereas most facilitators (n=4) were related to healthcare professionals. No barriers and facilitators were related to patients. ConclusionOur findings show that AM in cardiology is in its very early phases in both hospitals and mostly the work of a few individuals. In the two hospitals studied, there were some unique differences in terms of barriers that could explain the low level of implementation. These barriers could be important to address when supporting implementation of AM at hospitals where AM use is still low.

Effect of printing parameters on sintered WC-Co components by binder jetting

Hardmetals are materials employed to produce cutting and forming tools as well as wear resistant parts. Standard powder metallurgy suffers limitations in the manufacturing of shapes required by application-oriented design. Therefore, there is interest for the implementation of additive manufacturing, in particular low temperature techniques as binder jetting because they allow to preserve microstructures and peculiar properties. In our work, the powder was tungsten carbide with 12 wt.% cobalt (WC-Co). Shaping by binder jetting was followed by curing treatment to promote the binder polymerization, vacuum sintering and sinter-HIP to achieve near-full density. The powder was analysed in terms of size and shape, to determine its suitability for the procedure. Then, the effects of different combinations of printing parameters, layer thickness (50–100 μm) and binder saturation (60/75/90%), on the density of the green bodies were analysed. Finally, the relative density of the sintered components was measured and the pores shape and size were studied by SEM imaging, to assess possible consequences of the deposition procedure. Vickers hardness along the samples cross-section was measured and correlated to the printing conditions employed.

Method for Function-Based Identification of Potential AM Components in Conventional Product Architectures

AbstractThe implementation of additive manufacturing enables the the re-thinking of a product towards function-oriented design. This study proposes a method, which uses a set of rules and indicators to implement functional integration, part consolidation, part separation and on-demand manufacturing onto a conventional prodcut architecture to restructure it into an AM-oriented product architecture. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated on an assembly from the field of high temperature applications.

The design and production by additive manufacturing: case of face shields / O projeto e a produção por manufatura aditiva: caso dos protetores faciais.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly reached a global pandemic status in 2020 creating a huge demand for personal protective and medical equipment. Additive manufacturing, in this context, became a solution to alleviate the demands of the healthcare sector. This article presents how lean manufacturing approaches and Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) helped to implement an additive manufacturing line for face shields production. The methodological approach was action research, in which undergraduate and graduate students, professionals, and researchers joined forces to produce and deliver 27,000 face shields. The article contributes towards the implementation of additive manufacturing for small batches production of product final parts and offers content for future discussions regarding production digitization.

Implementation Challenges of 3D Printing in Prosthodontics: A Ranking-Type Delphi.

The reduction in cost and increasing benefits of 3D printing technologies suggest the potential for printing dental prosthetics. However, although 3D printing technologies seem to be promising, their implementation in practice is complicated. To identify and rank the greatest implementation challenges of 3D printing in dental practices, the present study surveys dentists, dental technicians, and 3D printing companies using a ranking-type Delphi study. Our findings imply that a lack of knowledge is the most crucial obstacle to the implementation of 3D printing technologies. The high training effort of staff and the favoring of conventional methods, such as milling, are ranked as the second and third most relevant factors. Investment costs ranked in seventh place, whereas the lack of manufacturing facilities and the obstacle of print duration ranked below average. An inclusive implementation of additive manufacturing could be achieved primarily through the education of dentists and other staff in dental practices. In this manner, production may be managed internally, and the implementation speed may be increased.

The impact of additive manufacturing on production location decisions: a case study in Belgium and the Netherlands

This study investigates how the implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) in production affects companies' production location decisions, a research gap present in the literature on AM and global value chains. Based on qualitative case studies at five AM manufacturing companies, active in Belgium or the Netherlands, we conclude that the implementation of AM for production activities increases the importance of access to technical knowledge, agglomeration economies, within-firm knowledge spillovers and customer proximity in production location decisions. On the other hand, AM decreases the importance of access to intermediate inputs and does not affect the importance of labour costs by shifting labour from production to pre- and post-production activities, rather than substituting it. Today, AM's overall effect on location decisions is still relatively small since technology is mostly used as a complementary production method next to traditional manufacturing, rather than as a substitute. Nevertheless, the recent pandemic crisis showed companies the risks of being dependent on supplies from remote areas, which may accelerate the implementation of AM in the future.

Integrating parametric design and additive manufacturing knowledge in industrial design education

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are present in almost any industry. For industrial designers, AM technologies are important for prototyping of new design concepts, and for their evaluation in short time and with less effort. Physical prototypes in industrial design often represent the outer shape, main modules and basic motions proposed with the designed concept. They are useful for better communication and acceptance of the design. Efficient prototyping can support creativity and experimentation in design.However, AM technologies also have limitations, meaning that there are manufacturing restrictions that the designer needs to know. Lack of knowledge on DfAM tools and techniques can be seen as one of the barriers for the further implementation of AM. By implementing DfAM in the Industrial Design Engineering curriculum, future designers can work confidently with AM and design products that fully exploit the possibilities of these technologies. DfAM is a way of thinking, a way of designing that the future designers and engineers need to obtain in the educational process.In this paper, we present the learning process that connects parametric modelling, DfAM and AM technologies through practical examples of product modelling and prototyping. The product models are redesigned and physically prototyped by the students, using a selected AM technology. More advanced examples are introduced through student projects that can stimulate creativity in development of design ideas, based on improved understanding of how the objects are manufactured, to get more advantage from using AM technologies.

Implementation of additive manufacturing technologies in the design and build process of a two-seater high-performance electric vehicle

This paper seeks to document the implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the Electric Vehicle (EV) design cycle. AM has been known to shorten prototyping phases and provide an edge in small volume or customised product manufacturing in most product design. It also opens more possibilities for generative design methods in computer aided design (CAD) for better weight saving optimisations and organic form aesthetics. In more mature engineering fields, such as automotive engineering, we start to see companies implementing AM technologies not just to their prototypes, but also to final parts and components of their products. Insights on how effective 3D printing technology can assist the automotive industry in simplifying their processes, speed up design timeline, as well as any improvements on their design aesthetics and performances will be covered in this paper.

Tilted Arch; Implementation of Additive Manufacturing and Bio-Welding of Mycelium-Based Composites.

Bio-based materials have found their way to the design and fabrication in the architectural context in recent years. Fungi-based materials, especially mycelium-based composites, are a group of these materials of growing interest among scholars due to their light weight, compostable and regenerative features. However, after about a decade of introducing this material to the architectural community, the proper ways of design and fabrication with this material are still under investigation. In this paper, we tried to integrate the material properties of mycelium-based composites with computational design and digital fabrication methods to offer a promising method of construction. Regarding different characteristics of the material, we found additive manufacturing parallel to bio-welding is an appropriate fabrication method. To show the feasibility of the proposed method, we manufactured a small-scale prototype, a tilted arch, made of extruded biomass bound with bio-welding. The project is described in the paper.

Large-scale metal additive manufacturing: a holistic review of the state of the art and challenges

ABSTRACT Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to completely reshape the manufacturing space by removing the geometrical constraints of commercial manufacturing and reducing component lead time, especially for large-scale parts. Coupling robotic systems with direct energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing techniques allow for support-free printing of parts where part sizes are scalable from sub-metre to multi-metre sizes. This paper offers a holistic review of large-scale robotic additive manufacturing, beginning with an introduction to AM, followed by different DED techniques, the compatible materials and their typical as-built microstructures. Next, the multitude of robotic build platforms that extend the deposition from the standard 2.5 degrees of freedom (DOF) to 6 and 8 DOF is discussed. With this context, the decomposition and slicing of the computerized model will be described, and the challenges of planning the deposition trajectory will be discussed. The different modalities to monitor and control the deposition in an attempt to meet the geometrical and performance specifications are outlined and discussed. A wide range of metals and alloys have been reported and evaluated for large-scale AM parts. These include steels, Ti, Al, Mg, Cu, Ni, Co–Cr and W alloys. Different post-processing steps, including heat treatments, are discussed, along with their microstructures. This paper finally addresses the authors' perspective on the future of the field and the largest knowledge gaps that need to be filled before the commercial implementation of robotic AM.

The Implementation of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in Industries Starting from the Identification of Organizational Cultural Characteristics - A Review

Additive Manufacturing (AM), widely known as 3D printing, is a fabrication process to build 3D parts layer by layer directly from a virtual CAD model. It is an innovative technology, with the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry completely. It is possible to manufacture complex shaped parts, shortening production sequence, reducing time to market and allowing mass customization. As one of Industry 4.0 nine pillars, AM has promoted an extensive number of researches. Some of them identify organizational culture as a leading factor affecting its implementation in industries. Like any change within companies, organizational culture can be a decisive factor for the successful implementation of AM. However, few studies have thoroughly explored the subject to find which set of cultural characteristics can guide the whole organization. This research identifies, through a systematic literature review (SLR) based on the PRISMA Protocol, which set of cultural characteristics can guide the transition from conventional to AM technology. The systematic literature review was capable of identifying a set of 41 cultural characteristics, which the company should present to implement AM successfully. Knowing which cultural characteristics can help AM implementation companies will increase their chances of succeeding when moving towards AM technologies within Industry 4.0.

Additive Manufacturing and Maritime Spare Parts: Benefits and Obstacles for the End-Users

3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) (in the industrial context) is an innovative, as opposed to subtractive, technology, bringing new opportunities and benefits to the spare part supply chain (SPSC). The aim of this work is to capture the views of the stakeholders at the end of the chain, extruding factors that will benefit the end-user and the factors that are likely to be an obstacle, by employing the questionnaire method. Company objectives regarding spares (cost reductions, improvement of services, space reduction) have been prioritized differently by the stakeholders. The most important barriers according to the participants are the quality assurance of the spare parts made by the new technology followed by the know-how and skills of staff. Other views such as suitable parts are suggested. The practical value of this work, in addition to assessing the readiness of the industry, is that it provides guidance for the successful implementation of AM in the maritime industry.