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The purpose of this paper is to propose and evaluate the selection of materials for the selective laser sintering (SLS) process, which is used for low-volume production in the engineering (e.g. light weight machines, architectural modelling, high performance application, manufacturing of fuel cell, etc.), medical and many others (e.g. art and hobbies, etc.) with a keen focus on meeting customer requirements.

The work starts with understanding the optimal process parameters, an appropriate consolidation mechanism to control microstructure, and selection of appropriate materials satisfying the property requirement for specific application area that leads to optimization of materials.

Fabricating the parts using optimal process parameters, appropriate consolidation mechanism and selecting the appropriate material considering the property requirement of applications can improve part characteristics, increase acceptability, sustainability, life cycle and reliability of the SLS-fabricated parts.

The newly proposed material selection system based on properties requirement of applications has been proven, especially in cases where non-experts or student need to select SLS process materials according to the property requirement of applications. The selection of materials based on property requirement of application may be used by practitioners from not only the engineering field, medical field and many others like art and hobbies but also academics who wish to select materials of SLS process for different applications.

The purpose of this paper is to draw from the authors’ experiences, as women teaching Communication in a College of Engineering and mechanical engineering students’ evaluations, to highlight student resistance to both practices and bodies deemed “feminine.”

The authors examine how the masculine discipline of engineering might construct a learning environment that is incompatible with feminist ideals. This is illuminated when engineering students are required to learn communication skills from female instructors.

The authors’ analysis suggests that students’ resistance to communication instruction is gendered. Students often constructed hierarchical relationships where communication was considered “soft” in relation to the “hard” science of engineering instead of integral to the discipline and profession. Students resisted by expressing a lack of utility of information, devaluing feedback and instruction, degrading communication teachers, and questioning their bodies.

The paper discusses implications of a gendered educational context and suggests ways interdisciplinary instruction can be utilized to enhance gender diversity.

This paper aims to present an investigation of material-process interaction of VAT-photopolymerization processes. The aim of the research is to evaluate the effect of different printing factors on the tensile properties, such as elastic modulus, of 3D printed specimens.

To perform this study, Design of Experiments is used by the use of Taguchi’s techniques. The relationship between each factor and the elastic modulus, ultimate tensile stress and strain at break is obtained. Furthermore, the total print time is analyzed with respect to the obtained properties.

The study indicates that part orientation, exposure time to the UV light and layer thickness are the most important factors affecting the investigated properties. At the same time, it was found that the highest mechanical properties can be obtained with the shortest printing times. A comprehensive list of factors available on the slicing software and other factors, like the orientation of the part or its position, is investigated. Future studies including post curing and chemical characteristics based on the obtained results are necessary.

As a result of this research, it is outlined that using design for additive manufacturing for vat-photopolymerization, especially on DLP processes, 3D printing methods can be stablished. Furthermore, it outlines the possibility of tailoring mechanical properties of printed parts as a function of print parameters and print time. Considering the limited amount of information available in the open literature, the results presented in this paper are of great interest for researchers in the field of VAT-photopolymerization.

Demand for mechanical engineers is far outstripping supply, according to the London‐based headhunters, Eurosurvey, who report that this generally depressed market is now enjoying significant growth in some sectors. With economists forecasting a 1.5 per cent growth in the expansion of mechanical engineering in the UK in the immediate future, emphasis will be on “design, development, quality and reliability assessment and simulation”; the engineers who will be head‐hunted will have skills in robotics, electronics, CAD‐CAM and CAD‐MAT. Many engineering projects fail due to a suitably integrated approach to project management, and the value of the engineers of the future will depend on their financial and management expertise as much as their engineering abilities. A new MSc in project management, begun in 1985 in a joint course run by Henley Management College and Brunei University, is the closest thing to a general technical education currently available. Organisations such as GIM, Lucas Industries and Marks and Spencer are actively supporting new moves to bring disciplined logic and improved training and management/career development to project management.

This paper aims to discuss how the theory of complex thinking can be considered an interesting element in engineering education, especially in the context in which challenges toward sustainable development are multidisciplinary.

This viewpoint synthesizes the main reflections and discussions generated during a process of debate, research and creation of a proposal for an undergraduate engineering course at a higher education institution in Brazil. The literature on engineering education, sustainability and complexity was considered in an integrated way. Debates were conducted considering the authors’ knowledge and experience as professors of engineering courses and researchers in the field of sustainability. A qualitative and reflexive approach was used to organize the main discussions.

The prevailing classical engineering paradigm trains professionals to think from a Cartesian, reductionist perspective, appropriate for solving well-structured problems with known solution paths and convergent answers. However, addressing sustainability challenges requires a different kind of thinking capable of dealing with situations characterized by uncertainty, emergence and incompleteness of knowledge. Complexity thinking can be useful for this purpose as it provides a broad system approach to deal with ill-defined, ill-structured and unpredictable problems. This study can be understood as a call to researchers and professionals to consider the value and importance of complexity thinking to advance engineering education for sustainability.

The need to overcome the limits of the classical engineering paradigm is emphasized in the context of sustainability. Complex thinking is considered as a path toward a paradigm shift in engineering education for sustainability. It can contribute to the training of professionals to face pressing challenges now and in the future. This viewpoint provides some insights to enhance debates on education engineering.

Human aging is becoming a common issue these days as it results in orthopaedic-related issues such as joints disorderness, bone-fracture. People with age = 60 years suffer more from these aforesaid issues. It is expected that these issues in human beings will ultimately reach 2.1 billion by 2050 worldwide. Furthermore, the increase in traffic accidents in young people throughout the world has significantly emerged the need for artificial implants. Their implantation can act as a substitute for fractured bones or disordered joints. Therefore, this study aims to focus on electron beam melted titanium (Ti)-based orthopaedic implants along with their recent trends in the field.

The main contents of this work include the basic theme and background of the metal-based additive manufacturing, different implant materials specifically Ti alloys and their classification based on crystallographic transus temperature (including α, metastable β, β and α + β phases), details of electron beam melting (EBM) concerning its process physics, various control variables and performance characteristics of EBMed Ti alloys in orthopaedic and orthodontic implants, applications of EBMed Ti alloys in various load-bearing implants, different challenges associated with the EBMed Ti-based implants along with their possible solutions. Recent trends and shortfalls have also been described at the end.

EBM is getting significant attention in medical implants because of its minor issues as compared to conventional fabrication practices such as Ti casting and possesses a significant research potential to fabricate various medical implants. The elastic modulus and strength of EBMed ß Ti-alloys such as 24Nb-4Zr-8Sn and Ti-33Nb-4Sn are superior compared to conventional Ti for orthopaedic implants. Beta Ti alloys processed by EBM have near bone elastic modulus (approximately 35–50 GPa) along with improved tribo-mechanical performance involving mechanical strength, wear and corrosion resistance, along with biocompatibility for implants.

Advances in EBM have opened the gateway Ti alloys in the biomedical field explicitly ß-alloys because of their unique biocompatibility, bioactivity along with improved tribo-mechanical performance. Less significant work is available on the EBM of Ti alloys in orthopaedic and orthodontic implants. This study is directed solely on the EBM of medical Ti alloys in medical sectors to explore their different aspects for future research opportunities.

Big data is relevant to the supply chain, as it provides analytics tools for decision-making and business intelligence. Supply Chain 4.0 and big data are necessary for organisations to handle volatile, dynamic and global value networks. This paper aims to investigate the mediating role of “big data analytics” between Supply Chain 4.0 business performance and nine performance factors.

A two-stage hybrid model of statistical analysis and artificial neural network analysis is used for analysing the data. Data gathered from 321 responses from 40 Indian manufacturing organisations are collected for the analysis.

Statistical analysis results show that performance factors of organisational and top management, sustainable procurement and sourcing, environmental, information and product delivery, operational, technical and knowledge, and collaborative planning have a significant effect on big data adoption. Furthermore, the results were given to the artificial neural network model as input and results show “information and product delivery” and “sustainable procurement and sourcing” as the two most vital predictors of big data adoption.

This study confirms the mediating role of big data for Supply Chain 4.0 in manufacturing organisations of developing countries. This study guides to formulate management policies and organisation vision about big data analytics.

For the first time, the impact of big data on Supply Chain 4.0 is discussed in the context of Indian manufacturing organisations. The proposed hybrid model intends to evaluate the mediating role of big data analytics to enhance Supply Chain 4.0 business performance.

The purpose of this paper is to review Lean Six Sigma (LSS) literature and report different definitions, demographics, methodologies and industries.

This paper highlights various definitions by different researchers and practitioners. A total of 235 research papers has been reviewed for the LSS theme, research methodology adopted, type of industry, author profile, country of research and year of publication.

From the review, four significant LSS classifications were identified that deal with the spread of LSS in different industries followed by observation for classification.

LSS is a strategy for success, but it did not examine its presence in various Industries. From this paper, readers can understand the quantum of its spread before implementing LSS. For academicians, it will be a comprehensive list of papers for research.

This paper reviews 235 research papers for their year, author profile, research methodology and type of industry. Various characteristics of LSS definitions and their theme are also reviewed.

In this chapter, a general introduction on artificial intelligence (AI) is given as well as an overview of the advances of AI in different engineering disciplines, including its effectiveness in driving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This chapter begins with some fundamental definitions and concepts on AI and machine learning (ML) followed by a classification of the different categories of ML algorithms. After that, a general overview of the impact which different engineering disciplines such as Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering have on the UN SDGs is given. The application of AI and ML to enhance the processes in these different engineering disciplines is also briefly explained. This chapter concludes with a brief description of the UN SDGs and how AI can positively impact the attainment of these goals by the target year of 2030.

This study aims to analyze co-flowing jets (CFJs) with constant velocity ratio (VR) and varying primary nozzle lip thickness (LT) to find a critical LT in CFJs below which mixing enhances and beyond which mixing inhibits.

CFJs were characterized with a constant VR and varying LTs. A single free jet with a diameter equal to that of a primary nozzle of the CFJ was used for characteristic comparison. Numerical simulation is carried out and is validated with the experimental results.

The results show that within a critical limit, the mixing enhanced with an increase in LT. This was signified by a reduction in potential core length (PCL). Beyond this limit, mixing inhibited leading to the elongation of PCL. This limit was controlled by parameters such as LT and constant VR. A new region termed as influential wake zone is identified.

In this study, the VR is maintained constant and bypass ratio (BR) was varied from low value to very high values. Presently, subsonic commercial turbo fan operates under low to ultra-high BR. Hence the present study becomes vital to the current scenario.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first effort to find the critical value of LT for a constant VR for compressible co-flow jets. The CFJs with constant VR and varying LT have not been studied in the past. The present study focuses on finding a critical LT below which mixing enhances and above which mixing inhibits.