On 15 February, at 5pm, we’ll be talking about Additive Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0 with Professor Joel Vasco (INOV/Instituto Politécnico de Leiria).
The online event is free to attend, subject to registration here.
Summary:
Additive manufacturing has become one of the most important manufacturing technologies over the last three decades. The ability to build free-form plays an important role in industrial applications where conventional manufacturing approaches may not be technically or even economically viable. The development of advanced materials for additive manufacturing is an ongoing process, providing a new competitive advantage for this field of technology. Nowadays, additive manufacturing plays an important role in the production of complex geometries for products in various fields, such as aerospace, automotive, medical/pharmaceutical and others, using high-performance materials and more efficient processes.
The distributed manufacturing production chain has also become a reality, enabling new business models and bridging the gaps between designers, product engineering/manufacturing and end users. In addition, high levels of manufacturing automation are appearing in various industries, namely smart factories incorporating additive manufacturing equipment as a response to complex geometric needs.
The standardisation that emerged in 2015 for materials, materials testing and manufacturing processes has begun to establish fundamental standards to harmonise the use of additive manufacturing technologies around the world. In this new decade, additive manufacturing is part of a promising and sustainable future in terms of optimising production processes and optimising products. This communication presents the current prospects for the adoption of additive manufacturing in various fields and its prospective impact on business models and industrial production.