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Examines the thirteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the most recent IMTS show in Chicago with emphasis on the new manufacturing automation innovations and applications on display.

The paper presents in‐depth interviews with exhibitors of automation equipment and system integrators of automation technology at the show.

Automation technology continues to address an ever increasing number of manufacturing tasks to improve quality and productivity at every step in the manufacturing and inspection process.

Customers may be surprised at the automation innovations and new applications which are appearing in the manufacturing environment.

The paper offers a review of some of the latest automation innovations and applications that one might have seen if they had been on the exhibition floor at the most recent Chicago IMTS show.

Examines the ninth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Soft robotics is currently a rapidly growing new field of robotics whereby the robots are fundamentally soft and elastically deformable. Fabrication of soft robots is currently challenging and highly time- and labor-intensive. Recent advancements in three-dimensional (3D) printing of soft materials and multi-materials have become the key to enable direct manufacturing of soft robots with sophisticated designs and functions. Hence, this paper aims to review the current 3D printing processes and materials for soft robotics applications, as well as the potentials of 3D printing technologies on 3D printed soft robotics.

The paper reviews the polymer 3D printing techniques and materials that have been used for the development of soft robotics. Current challenges to adopting 3D printing for soft robotics are also discussed. Next, the potentials of 3D printing technologies and the future outlooks of 3D printed soft robotics are presented.

This paper reviews five different 3D printing techniques and commonly used materials. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique for the soft robotic application are evaluated. The typical designs and geometries used by each technique are also summarized. There is an increasing trend of printing shape memory polymers, as well as multiple materials simultaneously using direct ink writing and material jetting techniques to produce robotics with varying stiffness values that range from intrinsically soft and highly compliant to rigid polymers. Although the recent work is done is still limited to experimentation and prototyping of 3D printed soft robotics, additive manufacturing could ultimately be used for the end-use and production of soft robotics.

The paper provides the current trend of how 3D printing techniques and materials are used particularly in the soft robotics application. The potentials of 3D printing technology on the soft robotic applications and the future outlooks of 3D printed soft robotics are also presented.

The main purpose of this study in the field of automotive brake friction material is to find an effective material to replace the environmentally hazardous copper in the brake pad formulation.

Cu is used as functional filler in various forms in the friction material formulation. Because of its hazardous impact to the aquatic life, a suitable replacement of Cu is the main focus of this research. Three novel friction composite materials using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as a suitable alternative for Cu were developed by increasing its Wt.% from 5% to 15% in the step of 5%.

The physical, mechanical and chemical properties of the developed friction composites were tested as per the industrial standards. The tribological properties were analyzed as per SAE J661 standard using the chase test rig. Initial studies revealed that the friction composite having 5% GGBFS exhibited better physical, mechanical and chemical properties with excellent frictional performance having minimal fluctuations even at higher temperatures. Nonetheless, the results showed that the friction composite containing 15 Wt.% GGBFS revealed a better wear resistance property compared with the other two composites due to the tribo lubricating layer formation at the frictional interface. Scanning electron microscope analysis was performed to understand the wear mechanism and tribo layer formations through topography studies.

This paper explains the influence of GGBFS as a replacement of barytes in brake pads formulation to enhance the tribological performance.

The increasing of mechanization levels used in tasks execution in construction, as a way to increase productivity, requires its rationalization, the adoption of new assembly‐ready materials and methods, and the application of robotics capabilities. In this way, using concepts as design for manufacture and assembly and lean construction, modular products can be developed for their assembly by robotics systems onsite. This paper aims to review developments.

A brief review of a different approach to the practical introduction of robotics technologies in the modular building process is presented.

A higher automation level is desirable in order to achieve the productivity levels of other industries. This discussion shows how concepts related to lean production are applied to the design of new materials and products with different levels of finishing that make modular assembly possible. Also a discussion of where and when the automation of assembly tasks is affordable is presented from a logistic point of view.

An analysis of onsite and mobile manufacturing facilities is considered, based on the authors' experiences in two European Union projects focused on modular assembly applied to the building industry: FutureHome and ManuBuild. Re the first, the robotized assembly of the modular structural 3D elements shows how careful design of modules and automatic cranes permits unmanned precision assembly. Re the second, a small modular piping system (service core) is designed for proving the viability of an onsite mobile factory.