Antecedents of digital supply chains for a circular economy: a sustainability perspective

PurposeA digital supply chain (DSC) positively enhances circular economy (CE) practices. However, what factors and conditions lead to the implementation of DSC for transitioning toward CE is not yet clear. Therefore, this study aims at identifying and subsequently analyzing the antecedents of DSC for CE.Design/methodology/approachThe study identifies major antecedents of DSC for CE to achieve sustainability objectives through literature review and expert opinions. In this study, 19 potential antecedents of DSCs for CE are established from the literature and suggestions from industry professionals. A trapezoidal fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is applied quantitatively to investigate the antecedents identified.FindingsConducted in the context of Indian automobile manufacturing industry, the findings of the study reflect that advanced information sharing arrangement, effective government policies for DSC and CE implementation and digitalizing the supply chains are the top three potential antecedents of DSC for a CE.Originality/valueIn the existing literature, few studies are specific to investigating the DSC and CE paradigm. The present study will help organizations develop a practical and integrated strategic approach that will foster DSC through improved knowledge of CE.

Overcoming Chip Shortages: Low-Cost Open-Source Parametric 3-D Printable Solderless SOIC to DIP Breakout Adapters

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains of many products. One area that requires improved supply chain resilience and that is of particular importance to electronic designers is the shortage of basic dual in-line package (DIP) electronic components commonly used for prototyping. This anecdotal observation was investigated as a case study of using additive manufacturing to enforce contact between premade, off-the-shelf conductors to allow for electrical continuity between two arbitrary points by examining data relating to the stock quantity of electronic components, extracted from Digi-Key Electronics. This study applies this concept using an open hardware approach for the design, testing, and use of a simple, parametric, 3-D printable invention that allows for small outline integrated circuit (SOIC) components to be used in DIP package circuits (i.e., breadboards, protoboards, etc.). The additive manufacture breakout board (AMBB) design was developed using two different open-source modelers, OpenSCAD and FreeCAD, to provide reliable and consistent electrical contact between the component and the rest of the circuit and was demonstrated with reusable 8-SOIC to DIP breakout adapters. The three-part design was optimized for manufacturing with RepRap-class fused filament 3-D printers, making the AMBB a prime candidate for use in distributed manufacturing models. The AMBB offers increased flexibility during circuit prototyping by allowing arbitrary connections between the component and prototyping interface as well as superior organization through the ability to color-code different component types. The cost of the AMBB is CAD $0.066/unit, which is a 94% saving compared to conventional PCB-based breakout boards. Use of the AMBB device can provide electronics designers with an increased selection of components for through-hole use by more than a factor of seven. Future development of AMBB devices to allow for low-cost conversion between arbitrary package types provides a path towards more accessible and inclusive electronics design as well as faster prototyping and technical innovation.

Customizable Fabrication Process for Flexible Carbon-Based Electrochemical Biosensors

In recent research, 3D printing has become a powerful technique and has been applied in the last few years to carbon-based materials. A new generation of 3D-printed electrodes, more affordable and easier to obtain due to rapid prototyping techniques, has emerged. We propose a customizable fabrication process for flexible (and rigid) carbon-based biosensors, from biosensor design to printable conductive inks. The electrochemical biosensors were obtained on a 50 µm Kapton® (polyimide) substrate and transferred to a 500 µm PDMS substrate, using a 3D-extrusion-based printing method. The main features of our fabrication process consist of short-time customization implementation, fast small-to-medium batch production, ease of electrochemical spectroscopy measurements, and very good resolution for an extrusion-based printing method (100 µm). The sensors were designed for future integration into a smart wound dressing for wound monitoring and other biomedical applications. We increased their sensibility with electro-deposited gold nanoparticles. To assess the biosensors' functionality, we performed surface functionalization with specific anti-N-protein antibodies for SARS-CoV 2 virus, with promising preliminary results.

IoT-Based Wearable and Smart Health Device Solutions for Capnography: Analysis and Perspectives

The potential of the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), also identified in the literature as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), is enormous, since it can generate expressive impacts on healthcare devices, such as the capnograph. When applied to mechanical ventilation, it provides essential healthcare to the patient and helps save lives. This survey elaborates on a deep review of related literature about the most robust and effective innovative healthcare solutions using modern technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, Blynk, Bluetooth Low Energy, Robotics, and embedded systems. It emphasizes that IoT-based wearable and smart devices that work as integrated systems can be a faster response to other pandemic crises, respiratory diseases, and other problems that may occur in the future. It may also extend the performance of e-Health platforms used as monitoring systems. Therefore, this paper considers the state of the art to substantiate research about sensors, highlighting the relevance of new studies, strategies, approaches, and novelties in the field.

Patent-Based Analysis of China's Emergency Logistics Industry Convergence

Technology and innovation have promoted industry convergence and brought new opportunities for industrial development, and a degree of convergence exists in the emergency logistics industry. The purpose of this study is to explore the convergence of the emergency logistics industry and the change in convergence degree among related industries, so as to find a solution to the lack of robustness of the emergency logistics system. This study measures the technical relationship between industries and analyzes the overall trend of emergency logistics industry convergence using the consistency between patent co-classification analysis and patent categories and technical fields. The dominance index and relative strength index are used to assess the strength of industry nodes and the convergence of the emergency logistics industry. Social network analysis is used to investigate the industries and technical fields that are important in the convergence industry. The findings indicate that there is significant convergence between the technical fields of the emergency logistics industry. Twelve industries are actively involved in the emergency logistics industry convergence, and nine industry pairs have strong convergence relationships between them. The information industry is critical to the convergence of the emergency logistics industry. Industry convergence is assisting in the coordinated growth of the emergency logistics sector, lowering informational barriers between sectors, and boosting the system's resilience. This study contributes theoretical significance to the development of the emergency logistics industry and enriches the emergency logistics industry's research system.

Review of the 23rd International Colloquium Tribology – 25-27 January 2022

The 23rd International Colloquium Tribology in January 2022 was held for the first time as an online conference only, with about 300 participants. The organising team, speakers and participants therefore made the best of this traditional event in Germany in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, even though the "online conference is not a substitute for a conference on site”, as one participant stated aptly. In almost 140 talks, 8 of which were plenary talks, new findings were reported on the topics of lubricants and additives, measuring techniques, digitalisation, coatings and surfaces, transport and industry, and sustainability. Several presentations were dedicated to the EU project "i-Tribomat”, which will soon be launched as "The European Tribology Centre” that offers services for the tribological characterisation of materials and lubricants.

Additive manufacturing integration in E-commerce supply chain network to improve resilience and competitiveness

In light of recently increased e-commerce, also a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines how additive manufacturing (AM) can contribute to e-commerce supply chain network resilience, profitability and competitiveness. With the recent competitive supply chain challenges, companies aim to decrease cost performance metrics and increase responsiveness. In this work, we aim to establish utilisation policies for AM in a supply chain network so that companies can simultaneously improve their total network cost and response time performance metrics. We propose three different utilisation policies, i.e. reactive, proactive – both with 3D printing support – and a policy excluding AM usage in the system. A simulation optimisation process for 136 experiments under various input design factors for an (s, S) inventory control policy is carried out. We also completed a statistical analysis to identify significant factors (i.e. AM, holding cost, lead time, response time, demand amount, etc.) affecting the performance of the studied retailer supply chain. Results show that utilising AM in such a network can prove beneficial, and where the reactive policy contributes significantly to the network performance metrics. Practically, this work has important managerial implications in defining the most appropriate policies to achieve optimisation of supply network operations and resilience with the aid of AM, especially in times of turbulence and uncertainty. © 2022 The Authors

Impact of multi-lattice inner structures on FDM PLA 3D printed orthosis using Industry 4.0 concepts

The use of digital manufacturing for the construction of orthosis and prostheses has become common since the popularization of 3D printers and the advent of Industry 4.0. Furthermore, due to the fact that the manufacture of orthosis is interactive and for personal use, generic production is difficult. In this sense, the large-scale production of these products lacks of improvements, standardization of processes and production optimization. An aggravation of this is the recent social distance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes the use of temporary orthosis made in 3D printers to have a recent growth. Parallel to this, the use of multi-lattice inner structures for internal structuring of prints has also been increasing and taking on a more consolidated form. This article aims to present the multi-lattice optimization as a solution to this problem, in order to reduce material waste while maintaining the mechanical behavior of printed parts. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.

Introduction to ISEM XXI

The conference on electro, physical and chemical machining happened as ISEM XXI again in Zurich and was actually meant to become a full presence conference. The COVID-19 situation enforced again at least a hybrid conference, where approximately 40% of the contributions were made via internet. ISEM covers different manufacturing processes that have all in common, that the tool is non-mechanical, but defined by partial differential field equations together with boundary conditions, which represent at least partly the workpiece. This general description is the bracket around those processes and makes it valuable to combine contributions to the development of electro machining, physical machining and chemical machining and also combinations as hybrid processes within one conference. As the modelling of the processes and the prediction of process results becomes increasingly important, the conference provides a cross fertilization between approaches to different processes. But the processes have more in common than is generally believed. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Design, Development, and Manufacturing of Cost-Effective Face Shields for COVID-19

COVID-19 is a highly contagious respiratory disease and is declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). COVID-19 has disrupted global supply chains including those of medical products and created severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). To ease the situation, many universities, industries, maker communities, and hobbyists have come forward and shared their designs in the public domain, to enable manufacturing of PPE such as face shields with readily available materials in partnership with local industries. Face shield protects the facial region including the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, and mouth) from splashes of body fluids that could contain harmful pathogens, in this case the novel coronavirus. The design and manufacturing of two novel reusable, low-cost, lightweight, comfortable, and easy to wear face shields are presented in the current article. The headband in one face shield (referred as FS1) is realized via additive manufacturing (popularly known as 3D printing) and the other (denoted by FS2), using conventional milling operation. The novelty in FS1 is its headband, which is designed to cover the ears too while in FS2, the headband is made of 3-ply corrugated cardboard that is biodegradable and recyclable. A 175 microns thick, high transparency, scratch-resistant, and anti-fog sheet are used as the shield material. Mass-producing face shields at low costs (INR 20 or USD 0.27) with the selected manufacturing methods are proposed. Both products received very good feedback from frontline workers. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Development of Twin Surgical Robotic Arm System for Invasive Surgery

Due to the coronavirus's enormous spread and effect, a robotic arm system is designed such that doctors can perform contact-less surgery to minimize risk to their health. Modern robotic aided surgery frequently employs remote operation. The surgeon sits beside the console, guided by visual feedback, and utilises an input control panel to direct the slave robotic equipment doing the procedure. The study discusses a potential surgical robotic system that can be used in surgery. The first robotic arm, out of two, is capable of performing various operations: marking, incision and gluing, using a unique concept of multi-gripper introduced in this paper. The second one has an end-effector that is used for removing a specific part of the body. A camera like endoscopy micro usb camera is used to provide visual assistance to the surgeon. Designing is carried out on AutoCAD, and the components are 3D printed to construct the robot. Robotic arm is operated using a control panel consisting of joysticks and potentiometers. Wireless communication is achieved through NodeMCUs, which are used for interfacing actuators and sensors. This multi gripper will help in saving time as switching to different grippers is not needed for various operations. The robotic system design performs the operation efficiently, resulting in less blood loss and quicker recovery time while allowing the surgeon to control it remotely. © 2022 IEEE.

NEW COLLABORATIVE WORKFLOWS - IMMERSIVE CO-DESIGN FROM SKETCHING TO 3D CAD AND PRODUCTION

Digital technologies have enabled design sketching to expand into new applications and domains. Inevitably, these new forms of visualisation require re-evaluating how we use drawing to see, visualise, understand, and fabricate products and services in design education and the profession. This paper presents a selection of discoveries after the authors performed research, made presentations and mediated workshops when face-to-face collaborations and travel were impossible because of the Covid-19 epidemic restrictions. Findings add to work intending to build a modern taxonomy for design sketching and visual knowledge while accounting for immersive virtual collaboration and distributed workflows from sketching to 3D CAD and 3D printing. These are among the first indications of a drive towards synthesising historically demarked design process stages into a singularity of actions that merge and move simultaneously among ideation, design, and production. Participants in two international conference workshops shared ideas and discussed their local circumstances relating to the potential use and acceptance of new technologies already researched and adopted in other disciplines such as computer science and entertainment. A critical consensus was that the challenge of new technologies for our design education and profession is not as much about technology and its tools as the process and steps that enable change. Significantly, conversation pointed towards a strategy that enhances and augments habits in design education and the profession as the means to modify and transform culture and practice. © Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education: Disrupt, Innovate, Regenerate and Transform, E and PDE 2022. All rights reserved.

DESIGN METHODOLOGY AND CONCEPT DEMONSTRATION OF PREASSEMBLED ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED TURBOMACHINERY SYSTEMS: CASE STUDY OF TURBOCHARGER BASED MEDICAL VENTILATORS

The present research focuses on analyzing the feasibility of manufacturing complex turbomachinery geometries in a preassembled manner through an uninterrupted additive manufacturing process, absent of internal support structures or post-processing. In the context of the present COVID-19 pandemic, the concept is illustrated by a 3D-printable turbinedriven blower-type medical ventilator, which solely relies on availability of high-pressure oxygen supply and a conventional plastic-printer. Forming a fully pre-assembled turbomachine in its final form, the architecture consists of two concentric parts, a static casing with an embedded hydrostatic bearing surrounding a rotating monolithic shell structure that includes a radial turbine mechanically driving a centrifugal blower, which in turn supplies the oxygen enriched air to the lungs of the patient. Although the component level turbomachinery design of the described architecture relies on well-established guidelines and computational fluid dynamics methods, this approach has the capability to shift the focus of additive manufacturing methods to design for preassembled turbomachinery systems. Upon finalizing the topology, the geometry is manufactured from PETG plastic using a simple tabletop extrusion-based machine and its performance is evaluated in a test facility. The findings of the experimental campaign are reported in terms of flow and loading coefficients and are compared with simulation results. A good agreement is observed between the two data sets, thereby fully corroborating the applied design approach and the viability of additively manufactured pre-assembled turbomachines. Eliminating long and costly processes due to presence of numerous parts, different manufacturing methods, logistics of various subcontractors and complex assembly procedures, the proposed concept has the potential to reduce the cost of a turbomachine to capital equipment depreciation and raw material. Copyright © 2022 by ASME.

Half face mask with regulation thermal stability system for continuous air flow: Stabimask

This article presents the design and prototyping of an electronic mask as personal protective equipment for the virus pandemic known as COVID - 19. Needs were identified such as: tightness and comfort. Requirements for use for long periods of time;this was considered for the design, also it has an adjustable ventilation system. The mask was simulated and validated with Solidworks Flow Simulation software, in addition a PID control model was implemented, thereby, it was shown that enough flow is generated to vary the temperature in a range of 20 to 37.2 ° C inside the mask. The design considers an outlet duct and an inlet duct with filters that prevent the entry of polluting particles, providing adequate protection. The prototype was made by 3D printing, And the thermal stability was achieved with the implementation of the temperature regulation system. The results obtained were validated, and they allow to future research to provide greater efficiency to masks. © 2022 ACM.

A Sequence of Laboratories for Beginning Statics Classes

Laboratories are valuable to students because they provide experiential learning, integrating theory with practice, inquiry learning, active learning, teamwork, planning experiments, communication, ethics (don't fudge data), and data analysis. However, commonly, statics classes don't have laboratories, and students often learn only theory. Even if institutions offer laboratories, such laboratories may use complicated devices such as computerized force sensors or strain gauges that limit the breadth of the laboratories. Such laboratories may also employ expensive or large equipment such as structure walls or Pasco bridge sets. This paper will describe a set of inexpensive, space-saving laboratories in statics courses using string, popsicle sticks, spring scales, 3D printed adapters, squares, protractors, and other venerable, effective items. The laboratories reveal good conformance with theory. Some laboratories deviate significantly from simplistic modeling in beginning statics courses, such as the assumption that pins don't support moments. When assumptions are invalid, and students discover this, the students gain greater insight into statics principles. In the case of trusses, frames, and machines, students learn that the loads calculated using a simple model exceed reality in the diagonal supports and are less than reality in the horizontal and vertical supports. The fall 2021 semester was the first semester that deployed these laboratories, so results are limited. However, the observation is that students gain increased insight into statics. Due to confounding factors and a small sample size, it's difficult to determine if there is a positive or negative influence on the success rates of the post-COVID hybrid classes compared to pre-COVID face-to-face classes. Generic student evaluations showed a marked improvement, likely indicating that students enjoyed the new structure, including labs. Also, students had to write free form lab reports and their communication skills improved markedly as the semester progressed. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Online Robotics Project-based Learning Approach in a First-year Engineering Program

A first-year mandatory engineering project-based course aimed at developing an engineering mindset was taught through students engaging in active learning strategies built on the design-thinking framework by Ulrich and Eppinger. Course outcomes were achieved via students' participation in the fabrication of an autonomous robotic vehicle facilitated through practical hands-on activities, group discussions, and laboratory modules. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this formerly in-person course adopted a synchronous teaching model and used online instructional tools for lectures, group activities, and project support. The robotic project helped introduce students to engineering principles by employing multi-developmental phases for creating a robot. The teaching approach also provided students an engineering design experience while working in interdisciplinary teams with members serving unique engineering roles such as design, hardware, software, project, or testing lead. Students were required to design and fabricate a relevant prototype for stakeholders and, while doing so, learn and acquire essential competencies and skillsets relevant to engineering professions. Course methodology involved weekly assignments and the acquisition of project kits by individual students. The engineering mindset was assessed through content knowledge of inclusive modules in electronics, programming, 3D printing, innovation, and data analysis assignments. Learning outcomes include using software, hardware-based technologies, and research-based inquiries to design, fabricate, test, and improve an autonomous robot. Measurement of these outcomes was accomplished through course assessments, student evaluations, and the final project showcase results. This remote course structure fostered an engineering mindset, technical know-how, innovation and promoted essential competencies like teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking. Despite the pandemic-transformed pedagogy, students acquired relevant toolsets for manufacturing, synthesis, analysis, and technology that support engineering solutions. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Design for Six Sigma: Material Design for 3D Printing of the New Product

The starting point of the research was the demand of customers for 3D printing of face shield frames. In this context, but also due to the possibilities of relatively cheap 3D printing of various products, a large amount of waste has started to be generated, which needs to be disposed of. The goal of the research was to contribute to the development of new 3D printed products while balancing their level of quality, and cost and minimizing their environmental footprint. For this purpose, based on customer requirements, the research team printed samples of PLA (polylactic acid) material and recycled PLA using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFM) technology, thus significantly helping especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research used a design method known as Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) and its framework of successive steps of defining, measuring, analyzing, designing, and validating DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Validate). The research concerns the development of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) functions that respect the requirement of a minimum environmental footprint of 3D printing. The result is an original QFD methodology, taking into account the choice of material in terms of minimizing the impact on the environment. © 2022 IEEE.

Energy Consumption Prediction for Fused Deposition Modelling 3D Printing Using Machine Learning

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are growing more and more in the manufacturing industry;the increase in world energy consumption encourages the quantification and optimization of energy use in additive manufacturing processes. Orientation of the part to be printed is very important for reducing energy consumption. Our work focuses on defining the most appropriate direction for minimizing energy consumption. In this paper, twelve machine learning (ML) algorithms are applied to model energy consumption in the fused deposition modelling (FDM) process using a database of the FDM 3D printing of isovolumetric mechanical components. The adequate predicted model was selected using four performance criteria: mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), R-squared (R2), and explained variance score (EVS). It was clearly seen that the Gaussian process regressor (GPR) model estimates the energy consumption in FDM process with high accuracy: R2 > 99%, EVS > 99%, MAE < 3.89, and RMSE < 5.8.