TY - JOUR A1 - Eichler, Fabian A1 - Balc, Nicolae A1 - Bremen, Sebastian A1 - Nink, Philipp T1 - Investigation of laser powder bed fusion parameters with respect to their influence on the thermal conductivity of 316L samples JF - Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing N2 - The thermal conductivity of components manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), also called Selective Laser Melting (SLM), plays an important role in their processing. Not only does a reduced thermal conductivity cause residual stresses during the process, but it also makes subsequent processes such as the welding of LPBF components more difficult. This article uses 316L stainless steel samples to investigate whether and to what extent the thermal conductivity of specimens can be influenced by different LPBF parameters. To this end, samples are set up using different parameters, orientations, and powder conditions and measured by a heat flow meter using stationary analysis. The heat flow meter set-up used in this study achieves good reproducibility and high measurement accuracy, so that comparative measurements between the various LPBF influencing factors to be tested are possible. In summary, the series of measurements show that the residual porosity of the components has the greatest influence on conductivity. The degradation of the powder due to increased recycling also appears to be detectable. The build-up direction shows no detectable effect in the measurement series. KW - Additive manufacturing KW - LPBF KW - SLM KW - Thermal conductivity KW - 316L Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp8040166 SN - 2504-4494 N1 - Corresponding author: Fabian Eichler VL - 8 IS - 4 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eichler, Fabian A1 - Balc, Nicolae A1 - Bremen, Sebastian A1 - Schleser, Markus A1 - Schwarz, Alexander T1 - Research on reducing residual stresses of SLM parts made for downstream welding process JF - Acta Technica Napocensis N2 - In the face of the current trend towards larger and more complex production tasks in the SLM process and the current limitations in terms of maximum build space, the welding of SLM components to each other or to conventionally manufactured parts is becoming increasingly relevant. The fusion welding of SLM components made of 316L has so far been rarely investigated and if so, then for highly specialised laser welding processes. When welding with industrial gas welding processes such as MIG/MAG or TIG welding, distortions occur which are associated with the resulting residual stresses in the components. This paper investigates process-side influencing factors to avoid resulting residual stresses in SLM components made of 316L. The aim is to develop a strategy to build up SLM components as stress-free as possible in order to join them as profitably as possible with a downstream welding process. For this purpose, influencing parameters such as laser power, scan speed, but also scan vector length and different scan patterns are investigated with regard to their influence on residual stresses. KW - Residual Stresses KW - Hybrid Manufacturing KW - Welding KW - SLM KW - LPBF KW - Additive Manufacturing Y1 - 2024 SN - 1221-5872 VL - 67 IS - 1s SP - 69 EP - 78 PB - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca CY - Cluj-Napoca ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abbas, Karim A1 - Balc, Nicolae A1 - Bremen, Sebastian A1 - Hedwig, Lukas T1 - Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in rapid tooling: advancements and applications for fused filament fabrication of rubber molds JF - Acta Technica Napocensis N2 - Establishing high-performance polymers in additive manufacturing opens up new industrial applications. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was initially used in aerospace but is now widely applied in automotive, electronics, and medical industries. This study focuses on developing applications using PEEK and Fused Filament Fabrication for cost-efficient vulcanization injection mold production. A proof of concept confirms PEEK’s suitability for AM mold making, withstanding vulcanization conditions. Printing PEEK above its glass transition temperature of 145 °C is preferable due to its narrow process window. A new process strategy at room temperature is discussed, with micrographs showing improved inter-layer bonding at 410°C nozzle temperature and 0.1 mm layer thickness. Minimizing the layer thickness from 0.15 mm to 0.1 mm improves tensile strength by 16%. KW - Process Parameters KW - Rapid Tooling KW - Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) KW - Tensile Strength KW - Fused Filament Fabrication KW - Additive Manufacturing Y1 - 2024 SN - 1221-5872 VL - 67 IS - 1s SP - 13 EP - 22 PB - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca CY - Cluj-Napoca ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luft, Nils A1 - Arntz, Kristian T1 - The impact and challenges of Industry 4.0 on factory design, organization and management JF - Acta Technica Napocensis N2 - The fourth industrial revolution is on its way to reshape manufacturing and value creation in a profound way. The underlying technologies like cyber-physical systems (CPS), big data, collaborative robotics, additive manufacturing or artificial intelligence offer huge potentials for the optimization and evolution of production systems. However, many manufacturing companies struggle to implement these technologies. This can only in part be attributed to the lack of skilled personal within these companies or a missing digitalization strategy. Rather, there is a fundamental incompatibility between the way current production systems and companies (Industry 3.0) are structured across multiple dimensions compared to what is necessary for industry 4.0. This is especially true in manufacturing systems and their transition towards flexible, decentralized and autonomous value creation networks. This paper shows across various dimensions these incompatibilities within manufacturing systems, explores their reasons and discusses a different approach to create a foundation for Industry 4.0 in manufacturing companies. KW - Manufacturing Process Chains KW - Tool Making KW - Operational Control KW - Technology Planning KW - Factory Planning KW - Industry 4.0 Y1 - 2024 SN - 1221-5872 VL - 67 IS - 1s SP - 151 EP - 158 PB - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca CY - Cluj-Napoca ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luft, Angela A1 - Balc, Nicolae A1 - Bremen, Sebastian T1 - Experts' perspectives on the adoption of additive manufacturing in the industry and its interrelated implications in production structures JF - Acta Technica Napocensis N2 - Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a topic that is becoming more relevant to many companies globally. With AM's progressive development and use for series production, integrating the technology into existing production structures is becoming an important criterion for businesses. This study qualitatively examines the actual state and different perspectives on the integration of AM in production structures. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed. The interview partners were high-level experts in Additive Manufacturing and production systems from industry and science. Four main themes were identified. Key findings are the far-reaching interrelationships and implications of AM within production structures. Specific AM-related aspects were identified. Those can be used to increase the knowledge and practical application of the technology in the industry and as a foundation for economic considerations. KW - AM implementation KW - thematic analysis KW - interviews KW - manufacturing management KW - production systems KW - Additive manufacturing Y1 - 2024 SN - 1221-5872 VL - 67 IS - 1s SP - 159 EP - 168 PB - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca CY - Cluj-Napoca ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luft, Angela A1 - Bremen, Sebastian A1 - Luft, Nils T1 - A cost/benefit and flexibility evaluation framework for additive technologies in strategic factory planning JF - Processes N2 - There is a growing demand for more flexibility in manufacturing to counter the volatility and unpredictability of the markets and provide more individualization for customers. However, the design and implementation of flexibility within manufacturing systems are costly and only economically viable if applicable to actual demand fluctuations. To this end, companies are considering additive manufacturing (AM) to make production more flexible. This paper develops a conceptual model for the impact quantification of AM on volume and mix flexibility within production systems in the early stages of the factory-planning process. Together with the model, an application guideline is presented to help planners with the flexibility quantification and the factory design process. Following the development of the model and guideline, a case study is presented to indicate the potential impact additive technologies can have on manufacturing flexibility Within the case study, various scenarios with different production system configurations and production programs are analyzed, and the impact of the additive technologies on volume and mix flexibility is calculated. This work will allow factory planners to determine the potential impacts of AM on manufacturing flexibility in an early planning stage and design their production systems accordingly. KW - additive manufacturing KW - factory planning KW - manufacturing flexibility KW - volume flexibility KW - mix flexibility Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11071968 SN - 2227-9717 VL - 11 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abbas, Karim A1 - Hedwig, Lukas A1 - Balc, Nicolae A1 - Bremen, Sebastian T1 - Advanced FFF of PEEK: Infill strategies and material characteristics for rapid tooling JF - Polymers N2 - Traditional vulcanization mold manufacturing is complex, costly, and under pressure due to shorter product lifecycles and diverse variations. Additive manufacturing using Fused Filament Fabrication and high-performance polymers like PEEK offer a promising future in this industry. This study assesses the compressive strength of various infill structures (honeycomb, grid, triangle, cubic, and gyroid) when considering two distinct build directions (Z, XY) to enhance PEEK’s economic and resource efficiency in rapid tooling. A comparison with PETG samples shows the behavior of the infill strategies. Additionally, a proof of concept illustrates the application of a PEEK mold in vulcanization. A peak compressive strength of 135.6 MPa was attained in specimens that were 100% solid and subjected to thermal post-treatment. This corresponds to a 20% strength improvement in the Z direction. In terms of time and mechanical properties, the anisotropic grid and isotropic cubic infill have emerged for use in rapid tooling. Furthermore, the study highlights that reducing the layer thickness from 0.15 mm to 0.1 mm can result in a 15% strength increase. The study unveils the successful utilization of a room-temperature FFF-printed PEEK mold in vulcanization injection molding. The parameters and infill strategies identified in this research enable the resource-efficient FFF printing of PEEK without compromising its strength properties. Using PEEK in rapid tooling allows a cost reduction of up to 70% in tool production. KW - polyetheretherketone (PEEK) KW - rapid tooling KW - infill strategy KW - compression behavior KW - additive manufacturing KW - fused filament fabrication Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214293 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Polymer Materials and Design Processes for Additively Manufactured Products" VL - 2023 IS - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luft, Angela A1 - Luft, Nils A1 - Arntz, Kristian T1 - A basic description logic for service-oriented architecture in factory planning and operational control in the age of industry 4.0 JF - Applied Sciences N2 - Manufacturing companies across multiple industries face an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable environment. This development can be seen on both the market and supply side. To respond to these challenges, manufacturing companies must implement smart manufacturing systems and become more flexible and agile. The flexibility in operational planning regarding the scheduling and sequencing of customer orders needs to be increased and new structures must be implemented in manufacturing systems’ fundamental design as they constitute much of the operational flexibility available. To this end, smart and more flexible solutions for production planning and control (PPC) are developed. However, scheduling or sequencing is often only considered isolated in a predefined stable environment. Moreover, their orientation on the fundamental logic of the existing IT solutions and their applicability in a dynamic environment is limited. This paper presents a conceptual model for a task-based description logic that can be applied to factory planning, technology planning, and operational control. By using service-oriented architectures, the goal is to generate smart manufacturing systems. The logic is designed to allow for easy and automated maintenance. It is compatible with the existing resource and process allocation logic across operational and strategic factory and production planning. KW - manufacturing data model KW - production planning and control KW - manufacturing flexibility KW - technology planning KW - SOA KW - service-oriented architectures KW - factory planning Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137610 SN - 2076-3417 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Smart Industrial System" VL - 2023 IS - 13 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pfaff, Raphael A1 - Babilon, Katharina T1 - Railway Challenge - moderne Auflage der Rainhill Trials? JF - ETR - Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau N2 - Die IMechE Railway Challenge wird jährlich in Stapleford, Großbritannien ausgetragen. Im Rahmen der Challenge entwickeln und bauen Studierende eine Lokomotive und vergleichen sich in verschiedenen Disziplinen, darunter eine automatisierte Zielbremsung, optimale Energierückgewinnung beim Bremsen und minimale Geräuschemissionen. Neben diesen und weiteren technischen Wettbewerbsdisziplinen treten die Fahrzeuge und die Teams auch in nicht-technischen Disziplinen wie einer Business Case Challenge an. Y1 - 2023 SN - 0013-2845 N1 - Homepageveröffentlichung unbefristet genehmigt für Fachhochschule Aachen / Rechte für einzelne Downloads und Ausdrucke für Besucher der Seiten genehmigt / © DVV Media Group GmbH VL - 2023 IS - 4 SP - 55 EP - 58 PB - DVV Media Group CY - Hamburg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Emonts, Jessica A1 - Buyel, Johannes Felix T1 - An overview of descriptors to capture protein properties – Tools and perspectives in the context of QSAR modeling JF - Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal N2 - Proteins are important ingredients in food and feed, they are the active components of many pharmaceutical products, and they are necessary, in the form of enzymes, for the success of many technical processes. However, production can be challenging, especially when using heterologous host cells such as bacteria to express and assemble recombinant mammalian proteins. The manufacturability of proteins can be hindered by low solubility, a tendency to aggregate, or inefficient purification. Tools such as in silico protein engineering and models that predict separation criteria can overcome these issues but usually require the complex shape and surface properties of proteins to be represented by a small number of quantitative numeric values known as descriptors, as similarly used to capture the features of small molecules. Here, we review the current status of protein descriptors, especially for application in quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models. First, we describe the complexity of proteins and the properties that descriptors must accommodate. Then we introduce descriptors of shape and surface properties that quantify the global and local features of proteins. Finally, we highlight the current limitations of protein descriptors and propose strategies for the derivation of novel protein descriptors that are more informative. KW - Prediction of molecular features KW - Protein structure complexity KW - Quantitative structure activity relationship KW - Scalar parameters KW - Shape and surface properties Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2023.05.022 SN - 2001-0370 (online-ressource) IS - 21 SP - 3234 EP - 3247 PB - Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology CY - Gotenburg ER -