Deployable Convex Generalized Cylindrical Surfaces Using Torsional Joints

The ability to deploy a planar surface to a desired convex profile with a simple actuation can enhance foldable or morphing airfoils, deployable antennae and reflectors, and other applications where a specific profile geometry is desired from a planar sheet. A model using a system of rigid links joined by torsional springs of tailorable stiffness is employed to create an approximate curved surface when two opposing tip loads are applied. A system of equations describing the shape of the surface during deployment is developed. The physical implementation of the model uses compliant torsion bars as the torsion springs. A multidimensional optimization algorithm is presented to place joints to minimize the error from the rigid-link approximation and account for additional manufacturing and stress considerations in the torsion bars. A proof is presented to show that equal torsion spring spacing along the horizontal axis of deployed parabolic profiles will result in minimizing the area between the model's rigid-link approximation and smooth curve. The model is demonstrated through the physical construction of a deployable airfoil surface and a metallic deployable parabolic reflector.

A manufacturability-based assessment and design modification support tool

In the light of momentous technological development and market competitiveness, designers struggle to generate creative and successful designs to survive in the market and stay competitive. However, being in such a stressful work environment, any slip, or flaws during the design stages, particularly those related to manufacturing, can make design more vulnerable to fail. Therefore, the designer is in need of aiding means to guarantee minimizing and controlling these costly errors. Thus, this paper presents a new tool, called DesMod, to help the novice designers as well as the design students avoid such issues, as well as to save time, effort and cost. Through DesMod, the designer can assess the manufacturability of the design and receive design modification suggestions and feedback at early design stages. This can be achieved by simply importing 3D CAD models in STEP or IGES format within DesMod. Next, the design features can be recognized in a hybrid way, either automatically and/ or manually; then mapped to the corresponding database in the background. Any additional manufacturing-related information such as materials, surface quality, production volume, among others, can be also entered. Once information about the design is entered and mapped, the manufacturability assessment and the associated design modification suggestions can be generated and stored in PDF format. In this paper, the casting module of DesMod was tested with many designs ranging from simple to complex, and acceptable results were obtained.

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS IN DIGITAL PRODUCTION

The analysis of the current situation and prospects for developing additional technologies for IT production presents a new development paradigm, Industry 4.0. In addition to learning the techniques to acquire the product, additional manufacturing processes may require IT development of the model. For multi-layer manufacturing techniques, angle cuts at the edges are used to provide an algorithm for dividing the product into layers of different thickness. Computer design is considered a combination of complex engineering products, complex automation technologies, and engineering product assembly. Considering the use of 5-axis manipulators in the context of complex automatic cutting, the design of the plate and layer cutting process can be used differently with the example of synthesizing complex engineering products.

Deployable Convex Generalized Cylindrical Surfaces Using Torsional Joints

The ability to deploy a planar surface to a desired convex profile can enhance foldable or morphing airfoils, deployable antennae and reflectors, and other applications where a specific profile geometry is desired from a planar sheet. A model using a system of rigid links joined by torsional springs of tailorable stiffness is employed to create an approximate curved surface when two opposing tip loads are applied. The physical implementation of the model uses compliant torsion bars as the torsion springs. A multidimensional optimization algorithm is presented to minimize the error from the rigid-link approximation and account for additional manufacturing and stress considerations in the torsion bars. A proof is presented to show that equal torsion spring spacing along the horizontal axis of deployed parabolic profiles will result in minimizing the area between the model’s rigid-link approximation and smooth curve. The model is demonstrated through the physical construction of a deployable airfoil surface and a metallic deployable parabolic reflector.

Collaborative Systems, Operation and Task of the Manufacturing Execution Systems in the 21st Century Industry

Until the first two decades of the 21st century, as part of the Enterprise Resourse Planning (ERP), the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and related systems have undergone development in both complexity and efficiency. In the field of production technology, there are many sources of work nowadays to get a detailed picture of the solutions offered by MES. The purpose of this article is to give a comprehensive overview of the MES solutions that currently used in industry. In addition to the general structure of the systems and Holonic MES are briefly described. Special attencion is paid to various collaborative systems that complement the MES. The additional manufacturing tools for MES is also described shematically in this article.

Ambient Cured Fly Ash Geopolymer Coatings for Concrete

The reinforced concrete structures that support transport, energy and urban networks in developed countries are over half a century old, and are facing widespread deterioration. Geopolymers are an affordable class of materials that have promising applications in concrete structure coating, rehabilitation and sensing, due to their high chloride, sulphate, fire and freeze-thaw resistances and electrolytic conductivity. Work to date has, however, mainly focused on geopolymers that require curing at elevated temperatures, and this limits their ease of use in the field, particularly in cooler climates. Here, we outline a design process for fabricating ambient-cured fly ash geopolymer coatings for concrete substrates. Our technique is distinct from previous work as it requires no additional manufacturing steps or additives, both of which can bear significant costs. Our coatings were tested at varying humidities, and the impacts of mixing and application methods on coating integrity were compared using a combination of calorimetry, x-ray diffraction and image-processing techniques. This work could allow geopolymer coatings to become a more ubiquitous technique for updating ageing concrete infrastructure so that it can meet modern expectations of safety, and shifting requirements due to climate change.

Contact Lens Materials: A Materials Science Perspective

More is demanded from ophthalmic treatments using contact lenses, which are currently used by over 125 million people around the world. Improving the material of contact lenses (CLs) is a now rapidly evolving discipline. These materials are developing alongside the advances made in related biomaterials for applications such as drug delivery. Contact lens materials are typically based on polymer- or silicone-hydrogel, with additional manufacturing technologies employed to produce the final lens. These processes are simply not enough to meet the increasing demands from CLs and the ever-increasing number of contact lens (CL) users. This review provides an advanced perspective on contact lens materials, with an emphasis on materials science employed in developing new CLs. The future trends for CL materials are to graft, incapsulate, or modify the classic CL material structure to provide new or improved functionality. In this paper, we discuss some of the fundamental material properties, present an outlook from related emerging biomaterials, and provide viewpoints of precision manufacturing in CL development.

Flexible 3-D Printed Circuits and Sensors

Electroactive polymers are a class of materials capable of reallocating their shape in response to an electric field while also having the ability to harvest electrical energy when the materials are mechanically deformed. Electroactive polymers can therefore be used as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. The parameters for manufacturing flexible electroactive polymers are complex and rate limiting due to number of steps, their necessity, and time intensity of each step. Successful 3D printing manufacturing processes for electroactive polymers will allow for scalability and flexibility beyond current limitations, improving the field, opening additional manufacturing possibilities, and increasing output. The goal for this research is to use additive manufacturing techniques to print conductive and dielectric substrates for building flexible circuits and sensors. Printing flexible conductive layers and substrates together allows for added creativity in design and application. In this work we have successfully demonstrated additive production of a simple flexible circuit using exclusively additive manufacturing.

Quality Assessment of Established and Emerging Blood Components for Transfusion

Blood is donated either as whole blood, with subsequent component processing, or through the use of apheresis devices that extract one or more components and return the rest of the donation to the donor. Blood component therapy supplanted whole blood transfusion in industrialized countries in the middle of the twentieth century and remains the standard of care for the majority of patients receiving a transfusion. Traditionally, blood has been processed into three main blood products: red blood cell concentrates; platelet concentrates; and transfusable plasma. Ensuring that these products are of high quality and that they deliver their intended benefits to patients throughout their shelf-life is a complex task. Further complexity has been added with the development of products stored under nonstandard conditions or subjected to additional manufacturing steps (e.g., cryopreserved platelets, irradiated red cells, and lyophilized plasma). Here we review established and emerging methodologies for assessing blood product quality and address controversies and uncertainties in this thriving and active field of investigation.

Intraoperative Manufacturing of Patient-Specific Instrumentation for Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Novel Mechatronic Approach

Optimal orthopaedic implant placement is a major contributing factor to the long term success of all common joint arthroplasty procedures. Devices such as three-dimensional (3D) printed, bespoke guides and orthopaedic robots are extensively described in the literature and have been shown to enhance prosthesis placement accuracy. These technologies, however, have significant drawbacks, such as logistical and temporal inefficiency, high cost, cumbersome nature and difficult theatre integration. A new technology for the rapid intraoperative production of patient-specific instrumentation, which overcomes many of the disadvantages of existing technologies, is presented here. The technology comprises a reusable table side machine, bespoke software and a disposable element comprising a region of standard geometry and a body of moldable material. Anatomical data from computed tomography (CT) scans of 10 human scapulae was collected and, in each case, the optimal glenoid guidewire position was digitally planned and recorded. The achieved accuracy compared to the pre-operative bespoke plan was measured in all glenoids, from both a conventional group and a guided group (GG). The technology was successfully able to intraoperatively produce sterile, patient-specific guides according to a pre-operative plan in 5[Formula: see text]min, with no additional manufacturing required prior to surgery. Additionally, the average guidewire placement accuracy was [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mm and 6.82[Formula: see text] in the manual group, and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mm and [Formula: see text] in the guided group, also demonstrating a statistically significant improvement.