3D printing, unlike other manufacturing processes, being an additive process has emerged as a viable technology for the production of engineering components. The aspects associated with 3D printing ...such as less material wastage, ease of manufacturing, less human involvement, very less post processing and energy efficiency makes the process sustainable for industrial use. The paper discusses numerous 3D printing processes, their advantages and disadvantages. A comprehensive description of different materials compatible for each type of 3D printing process is presented. The paper also presents the various application areas of each type of process. A dedicated section on industry 4.0 has also been included. The literature studied revealed that although the field of 3D printing has evolved to a great extent, there are still issues that need to be addressed such as material incompatibility and the cost of the materials. Future research could be undertaken to develop and modify the processes to suit a broad range of materials. To broaden the range of applications for 3D printed parts, more focus needs to be laid on developing cost effective printer technologies and materials compatible for these printers.
Naše pracovisko, Ustav procesného inžinierstva SjF STU, patrí v patentovaní k veľmi aktívnym pracoviskám, a preto služby NCTT SR využívame napr. pri patentovej rešerši, spracovávaní patentových ...prihlášok, ohodnocovaní komerčného potenciálu priemyselného vlastníctva a ďalších poskytovaných podporných aktivitách. S realizovanými činnosťami a službami Centra transferu technológií pri CVTI SR som detailne oboznámený a v spolupráci s Kanceláriou spolupráce s praxou STU pod vedením JUDr. Prestížne ocenenia sú obyčajne udeľované jednotlivcom, ale vždy za tým treba vidieť prácu dobre fungujúceho kolektívu, na čo som zvlášť hrdý. Vyhlasovatelia podujatia „Vedec roka 2020" (CVTI SR, SAV, ZSVTS a MŠ SR) mi udelili ocenenie v kategórii „Technológ roka" za mimoriadny prínos v oblasti vývoja nových netradičných a unikátnych technológií spracovania suchých aj vlhkých práškových a zrnitých látok, v oblasti pokrokových materiálov pre nasadenie v systémoch Industry 4.0 a za výchovu mladých technológov. V rámci týchto aktivít mi boli udelené viaceré ocenenia, ako už spomínaná Cena za transfer technológií na Slovensku 2016 (CVTI SR), Mladý výskumník roka 2018 (SjF STU), bol som finalistom kategórie Výnimočný vysokoškolský pedagóg v rámci ESET Science Award 2019 (Nadácia ESET), potom Vedec roka STU 2020 (STU) a teraz Inovatívny čin roka 2020 (MHSR) v kategórii Technologická inovácia.
There is the increased application of new technologies in manufacturing, service, and communications. Industry 4.0 is the new fourth industrial revolution, which supports organisational efficiency. ...Robotics is an important technology of Industry 4.0, which provides extensive capabilities in the field of manufacturing. This technology has enhanced automation systems and does repetitive jobs precisely and at a lower cost. Robotics is progressively leading to the manufacturing of quality products while maintaining the value of existing collaborators schemes. The primary outcome of Industry 4.0 is intelligent factories developed with the aid of advanced robotics, massive data, cloud computing, solid safety, intelligent sensors, the Internet of things, and other advanced technological developments to be highly powerful, safe, and cost-effective. Thus, businesses will refine their manufacturing for mass adaptation by improving the workplace's safety and reliability on actual work and saving costs. This paper discusses the significant potential of Robotics in the field of manufacturing and allied areas. The paper discusses eighteen major applications of Robotics for Industry 4.0. Robots are ideal for collecting mysterious manufacturing data as they operate closer to the component than most other factory machines. This technology is helpful to perform a complex hazardous job, automation, sustain high temperature, working entire time and for a long duration in assembly lines. Many robots operating in intelligent factories use artificial intelligence to perform high-level tasks. Now they can also decide and learn from experience in various ongoing situations.
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Facing the challenges of globalisation and unpredictable shocks, manufacturers seek novel methods to maintain the sustainability of their supply chains. Adopting Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies ...facilitates sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) with the precise decision-making of supply chain activities and the realisation of circular development. However, according to the bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review of articles related to “SSCM”, few frameworks with I4.0 technologies are found to empower SSCM under circular economy (CE) logic. Thus, this article proposes a conceptual framework of I4.0 technologies-embedded SSCM, which takes advantage of five kinds of emerging digital technologies, including cloud services, artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics (BDA), blockchain technology (BT), and internet of things (IoT). The CAB2IN framework is based on the technologies mentioned above alongside the design, manufacturing, delivering, using, and end-of-life stages of products and services to meet the requirements of reducing material usage, remanufacturing, reusing, and recycling. This paper's contribution lies in indicating the trends of SSCM in the era of Industry 4.0 and proposing CAB2IN to creatively establish the virtual side of circular SSCM, which leverages the data generated in each stage to assist sustainable decision-making. CAB2IN illuminates several research directions for future studies of digitalised SSCM under the perspective of CE. The case of Company S illustrates the application of CAB2IN in the healthcare supply chain. This paper also summarises insightful directions of digitalised SSCM under the proposed circular framework.
•Emerging technologies in SSCM are identified with bibliometric analysis.•A framework integrating information and digital technologies in SSCM is developed.•The framework guides the lifecycle management of SSCM with digital technologies.•A case study of pharmaceutical SSCM is used to validate the proposed framework.
Despite the recent interest in the Industry 4.0 applications for sustainability, little is known on the processes through which digital transformation and Industry 4.0 technologies enable sustainable ...innovation in manufacturing. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by developing a strategic roadmap that explains how businesses can leverage Industry 4.0 technologies to introduce sustainability into innovative practices. For this purpose, the study conducts a systematic review of extant literature to identify Industry 4.0 functions for sustainable innovation and applies interpretive structural modeling to devise the promised roadmap. The results offer interesting insights into Industry 4.0 applications for sustainable innovation. The strategic roadmap developed reveals that Industry 4.0 enables sustainable innovation through 11 functions. Industry 4.0 and the underlying digital technologies and principles allow businesses to improve interfunctional collaboration and better integrate with internal and external stakeholders. Industry 4.0 further improves the knowledge base and advanced manufacturing competency and promotes organizational capabilities valuable to sustainable innovation such as green absorptive capacity, sustainable partnership, and sustainable innovation orientation. Through these functions, Industry 4.0 subsequently enhances green process innovation capacity and the ability to develop or reintroduce eco‐friendly products economically and competitively. Overall, the roadmap explains the complex precedence relationships among the 11 sustainable innovation functions of Industry 4.0, offering important implications for businesses that seek to leverage Industry 4.0 sustainability implications and manage sustainable development.
There is an increasing interest in understanding the interdependencies between conventional lean and agile implementations and Industry 4.0 technology adoptions. Our knowledge of how they interact ...and enable Industry 4.0 implementations in learning organisations is still immature. Informed by the Strategic Momentum Theory and the contextual ambidexterity framework, this paper empirically investigates the effects of lean and agile implementations on Industry 4.0 technology adoptions with exploratory and exploitative learning as mediators. Using the data collected from an online survey of 166 Australian firms and analysed using the PLS-SEM method, we found that only lean practices have significant and positive direct effects on Industry 4.0 implementations, and exploitative learning partially mediates the relationship. We also found that agility does not have direct effects on Industry 4.0 implementations, and exploitative learning fully mediates their relationship. However, the mediating role of exploratory learning is not empirically confirmed. This study confirms several recent exploratory research studies that found evidence for the significant role lean implementations play in Industry 4.0 technology adoption. Agile practices need to first translate into exploitative learning. The findings inform practitioners that firms with investments in lean, agility and exploitative learning capability development will have advantages in technology implementations.
•Conventional agile and lean practices interact with Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies.•Lean practices have significant and positive direct effects on I4.0 implementations.•Exploitative learning partially mediates the relationship between lean and I4.0.•Exploitative learning fully mediates the relationship between agility and I4.0.•The mediating role of exploratory learning is not empirically confirmed.
Retrofitting is a sustainable approach to improving the capabilities and extending the life of aging machine tools. Reusing the mechanical construction and replacing only the control electronics and ...software is a viable option to upgrade an aging machine tool to a cutting-edge level. During the last decades, the evolution of machine tools has focused on developing computer numerical control (CNC) rather than on mechanical construction. Retrofitting the CNC enables Industry 4.0 connectivity and improved usability sustainably, preserving finite raw material resources and reducing carbon emissions created during the casting process of heavy blank parts for physically large machine tools.
This publication presents methods to retrofit machine tools using open-source CNC software and a feasibility study after seven years of operation. Our study highlights retrofitting as more profitable than repairing an aging CNC and compares the sustainability of retrofitting or replacing the aging machine tool with a new unit. In conclusion, retrofitting enables sustainability, connectivity, and accuracy comparable to modern machine tools. Retrofitting also paves the way for using artificial intelligence to monitor and adapt to tool wear, chatter, and surface roughness.
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•The presented retrofit approach is scalable, enabling retrofitting large and small machine tools.•A feasibility study and usability survey of the CNC retrofit are presented.•A study on the carbon footprint of casting a frame for machine tools is presented.
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