Stereolithography is a solid freeform technique (SFF) that was introduced in the late 1980s Although many other techniques have been developed since then, stereolithography remains one of the most powerful and versatile of all SFF techniques It has the highest fabrication accuracy and an increasing number of materials that can be processed is becoming available In this paper we discuss the characteristic features of the stereolithography technique and compare it to other SFF techniques The biomedical applications of stereolithography are reviewed, as well as the biodegradable resin materials that have been developed for use with stereolithography Finally, an overview of the application of stereolithography in preparing porous structures for tissue engineering is given

A review on stereolithography and its applications in biomedical engineering

Introduction Motivation and Contents Preliminaries Polymer Matrices for Composites Fibers Classification General Approach to Modeling Organization of the Book Overview of Manufacturing Processes Background Classification Based on Dominant Flow Process Short Fiber Suspension Manufacturing Methods Advanced Thermoplastic Manufacturing Methods Advanced Thermoset Composite Manufacturing Methods Transport Equations for Composite Processing Introduction to Process Models Conservation of Mass (Continuity Equation) Conservation of Momentum (Equation of Motion) Stress-Strain Rate Relationship Examples to Solve Viscous Flow Problems Conservation of Energy Constitutive Laws and Their Characterization Resin Viscosity Viscosity of Aligned Fiber Thermoplastic Laminates Suspension Viscosity Reaction Kinetics Thermoplastic Reactive Processing Crystallization Kinetics Permeability Fiber Stress Model Simplifications and Solution Formulation of Models Model and Geometry Simplifications Dimensionless Analysis and Dimensionless Numbers Customary Assumptions in Polymer Composite Processing Boundary Conditions for Flow Analysis Convection of Variables Process Models from Simplified Geometries Mathematical Tools for Simplification Solution Methods Numerical Methods Validation Short Fiber Composites Compression Molding Extrusion Injection Molding Exercises Advanced Thermoplastic Manufacturing Processes Composite Sheet Forming Processes Pultrusion Thermal Model Online Consolidation of Thermoplastics Processing Advanced Thermoset Fiber Composites Autoclave Molding Liquid Composite Molding Filament Winding of Thermosetting Matrix Composites Summary and Outlook MATLAB Files Solution to Example 8.13 using FDM Additional Examples with LIMS to Model Liquid Mold Filling Bibliography Index

Process Modeling in Composites Manufacturing

In the contemporary world, natural fibers reinforced polymer composite (NFRPC) materials are of great interest owing to their eco-friendly nature, lightweight, life-cycle superiority, biodegradability, low cost, noble mechanical properties. NFRPCs are widely applied in various engineering applications and this research field is continuously developing. However, the researchers are facing numerous challenges regarding the developments and applications of NFPRCs due to the inherent characteristics of natural fibers (NFs). These challenges include quality of the fiber, thermal stability, water absorption capacity, and incompatibility with the polymer matrices. Ecological and economic concerns are animating new research in the field of NFRPCs. Furthermore, considerable research is carried out to improve the performance of NFRPCs in recent years. This review highlights some of the important breakthroughs associated with the NFRPCs in terms of sustainability, eco-friendliness, and economic perspective. It also includes hybridization of NFs with synthetic fibers which is a highly effective way of improving the mechanical properties of NFRPCs along with some chemical treatment procedures. This review also elucidates the significance of using numerical models for NFRPCs. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are drawn to assist the researchers with future research directions.

Natural fiber reinforced composites: Sustainable materials for emerging applications

Recently, significant events took place that added immensely to the sociotechnical pressure for developing sustainable composite recycling solutions, namely (1) a ban on composite landfilling in Germany in 2009, (2) the first major wave of composite wind turbines reaching their End-of-Life (EoL) and being decommissioned in 2019–2020, (3) the acceleration of aircraft decommissioning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (4) the increase of composites in mass production cars, thanks to the development of high volume technologies based on thermoplastic composites. Such sociotechnical pressure will only grow in the upcoming decade of 2020s as other countries are to follow Germany by limiting and banning landfill options, and by the ever-growing number of expired composites EoL waste. The recycling of fiber reinforced composite materials will therefore play an important role in the future, in particular for the wind energy, but also for aerospace, automotive, construction and marine sectors to reduce environmental impacts and to meet the demand. The scope of this manuscript is a clear and condensed yet full state-of-the-art overview of the available recycling technologies for fiber reinforced composites of both low and high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). TRL is a framework that has been used in many variations across industries to provide a measurement of technology maturity from idea generation (basic principles) to commercialization. In other words, this work should be treated as a technology review providing guidelines for the sustainable development of the industry that will benefit the society. The authors propose that one of the key aspects for the development of sustainable recycling technology is to identify the optimal recycling methods for different types of fiber reinforced composites. Why is that the case can be answered with a simple price comparison of E-glass fibers (~2 $/kg) versus a typical carbon fiber on the market (~20 $/kg)—which of the two is more valuable to recover? However, the answer is more complicated than that—the glass fiber constitutes about 90% of the modern reinforcement market, and it is clear that different technologies are needed. Therefore, this work aims to provide clear guidelines for economically and environmentally sustainable End-of-Life (EoL) solutions and development of the fiber reinforced composite material recycling.

Composite Material Recycling Technology—State-of-the-Art and Sustainable Development for the 2020s

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.

Substantial capabilities of robotics in enhancing industry 4.0 implementation

Components and structures working in the marine environment are exposed to high stresses attributable to the action of wind, waves, and tides. Moreover, they have to face hostile and severe environmental conditions during their lifetime, being placed in the splash zone if not even submerged in saltwater. The application of polymer composites in marine systems has been the focus of intensive studies in the last decades, highlighting potential benefits given by the replacement of several components, such as ship hulls, propeller blades, wind, and tidal turbine blades, to cite but a few. The present paper reports the latest advances in this area, addressing the applications of advanced composites in ships and ship components, offshore oil and gas composites, marine renewable energy and underwater repairing.

Marine Application of Fiber Reinforced Composites: A Review

Currently, the application of pultruded profiles is increasing owing to their advantages, such as light weight, high strength, improved durability, corrosion resistance, ease of transportation, spe...

Pultruded materials and structures: A review:

In recent years, new revolutionary paradigms generally indicated using the term Industry 40, have been conceived and are progressively applied in several manufacturing systems to achieve a smarter

Advanced robotics and additive manufacturing of composites: towards a new era in Industry 4.0

This paper discusses a multi-scale approach for the simulation of preform impregnation and a dielectric flow monitoring system in liquid composite molding processes. A mesoscale unit cell was built based on image analysis of the microstructure of manufactured composite laminates. Bulk permeability and saturation rate were computed at the mesoscale and then introduced in the macroscale model modifying the governing mass and momentum equations. The model was used to simulate a unidirectional infusion test, in order to compare numerical results with experimental data from pressure measurements. Moreover, a non-invasive dielectric monitoring system for unsaturated and saturated flow tracking was developed. The good agreement exhibited by the numerical and experimental results points out the capability of the multiscale model as well as of the dielectric monitoring system.

Multi-scale modeling and online monitoring of resin flow through dual-scale textiles in liquid composite molding processes

Surface treatments on polymer-based materials are frequently used to enhance mechanical and physical properties. Cold spray is a metallisation technique that provides a viable solution to overcome ...

Fausto Tucci

Papers

Marine Application of Fiber Reinforced Composites: A Review

Pultruded materials and structures: A review:

Advanced robotics and additive manufacturing of composites: towards a new era in Industry 4.0

Multi-scale modeling and online monitoring of resin flow through dual-scale textiles in liquid composite molding processes

Metallisation of polymers and polymer matrix composites by cold spray: state of the art and research perspectives