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The purpose of this study is to cover the influence of selected printing parameters at a macro and micro-geometrical level, focusing on the dimensions, geometry and surface of printed parts with short carbon fibers reinforced PLA. For this case study, a hollow cylindrical shape is considered, aiming to cover the gap detected in previous works analyzed.

Nowadays, additive manufacturing plays a very important role in the manufacturing industry, as can be seen through its numerous research and applications that can be found. Within the engineering industry, geometrical tolerances are essential for the functionality of the parts and their assembly, but the variability in three-dimensional (3D) printing makes dimensional control a difficult task. Constant development in 3D printing allows, more and more, printed parts with controlled and narrowed geometrical deviations and tolerances. So, it is essential to continue narrowing the studies to achieve the optimal printed parts, optimizing the manufacturing process as well.

Results present the relation between the selected printing parameters and the resulting printed part, showing the main deviations and the eligible values to achieve a better tolerance control. Also, from these results obtained, we present a parametric model that relates the geometrical deviations considered in this study with the printing parameters. It can provide an overview of the piece before printing it and so, adjusting the printing parameters and reducing time and number of printings to achieve a good part.

The main contribution is the study of the geometry selected under a 3D printing process, which is important because it considers parts that are created to fit together and need to comply with the required tolerances. Also, we consider that the parametric model can be a suitable approach to selecting the optimal printing parameters before printing.

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process, materials, structural design features and implementation location to determine predominant parameters, environmental impacts, advantages, and limitations.

The review analysed 16 cases of artificial reefs from both temperate and tropical regions. These were categorised based on the AM process used, the mortar material used (crucial for biological applications), the structural design features and the location of implementation. These parameters are assessed to determine how effectively the designs meet the stipulated ecological goals, how AM technologies demonstrate their potential in comparison to conventional methods and the preference locations of these implementations.

The overview revealed that the dominant artificial reef implementation occurs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas, both accounting for 24%. The remaining cases were in the Australian Sea (20%), the South Asia Sea (12%), the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, both with 8%, and the Indian Sea with 4% of all the cases studied. It was concluded that fused filament fabrication, binder jetting and material extrusion represent the main AM processes used to build artificial reefs. Cementitious materials, ceramics, polymers and geopolymer formulations were used, incorporating aggregates from mineral residues, biological wastes and pozzolan materials, to reduce environmental impacts, promote the circular economy and be more beneficial for marine ecosystems. The evaluation ranking assessed how well their design and materials align with their ecological goals, demonstrating that five cases were ranked with high effectiveness, ten projects with moderate effectiveness and one case with low effectiveness.

AM represents an innovative method for marine restoration and management. It offers a rapid prototyping technique for design validation and enables the creation of highly complex shapes for habitat diversification while incorporating a diverse range of materials to benefit environmental and marine species’ habitats.

This paper presents an experimental investigation in establishing the relationship between FDM process parameters and tensile strength of polycarbonate (PC) samples using the I-Optimal design.

I-optimal design methodology is used to plan the experiments by means of Minitab-17.1 software. Samples are manufactured using Stratsys FDM 400mc and tested as per ISO standards. Additionally, an artificial neural network model was developed and compared to the regression model in order to select an appropriate model for optimisation. Finally, the genetic algorithm (GA) solver is executed for improvement of tensile strength of FDM built PC components.

This study demonstrates that the selected process parameters (raster angle, raster to raster air gap, build orientation about Y axis and the number of contours) had significant effect on tensile strength with raster angle being the most influential factor. Increasing the build orientation about Y axis produced specimens with compact structures that resulted in improved fracture resistance.

The fitted regression model has a p-value less than 0.05 which suggests that the model terms significantly represent the tensile strength of PC samples. Further, from the normal probability plot it was found that the residuals follow a straight line, thus the developed model provides adequate predictions. Furthermore, from the validation runs, a close agreement between the predicted and actual values was seen along the reference line which further supports satisfactory model predictions.

This study successfully investigated the effects of the selected process parameters - raster angle, raster to raster air gap, build orientation about Y axis and the number of contours - on tensile strength of PC samples utilising the I-optimal design and ANOVA. In addition, for prediction of the part strength, regression and ANN models were developed. The selected ANN model was optimised using the GA-solver for determination of optimal parameter settings.

The proposed ANN-GA approach is more appropriate to establish the non-linear relationship between the selected process parameters and tensile strength. Further, the proposed ANN-GA methodology can assist in manufacture of various industrial products with Nylon, polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) and PET as new 3DP materials.

Polymer laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/P) is an additive manufacturing technology that is sustainable due to the possibility of recycling the powder multiple times and allowing the fabrication of gears without the aid of support structures and subsequent assembly. However, there are constraints in the process that negatively affect its adoption compared to other additive technologies such as material extrusion to produce gears. This study aims to demonstrate that it is possible to overcome the problems due to the physics of the process to produce accurate mechanism.

Technological aspects such as orientation, wheel-shaft thicknesses and degree of powder recycling were examined. Furthermore, the evolving tooth profile was considered as a design parameter to provide a manufacturability map of gear-based mechanisms.

Results show that there are some differences in the functioning of the gear depending on the type of powder used, 100% virgin or 50% virgin and 50% recycled for five cycles. The application of a groove on a gear produced with 100% virgin powder allows the mechanism to be easily unlocked regardless of the orientation and wheel-shaft thicknesses. The application of a specific evolutionary profile independent of the diameter of the reference circle on vertically oriented gears guarantees rotation continuity while preserving the functionality of the assembled mechanism.

In the literature, there are various studies on material aging and reuse in the PBF-LB/P process, mainly focused on the powder deterioration mechanism, powder fluidity, microstructure and mechanical properties of the parts and process parameters. This study, instead, was focused on the functioning of gears, which represent one of the applications in which this technology can have great success, by analyzing the two main effects that can compromise it: recycled powder and vertical orientation during construction.

Particles bed binding by selective cement activation (SCA) method is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technique used to produce cementitious elements. A computer-aided design file is sliced to generate G-codes before printing. This paper aims to study the effect of key input parameters for slicer software on the final properties of printed products.

The one factor at a time (OFAT) methodology is used to investigate the impact of selected parameters on the final properties of printed specimens, and the causes for the variations in outcomes of each variable are discussed.

Finer aggregates can generate a more compact layer, resulting in a denser product with higher strength. Fluid pressure is directly determined by voxel rate (r_V); however, high pressures enable better fluid penetration control for fortified products; for extreme r_Vs, residual voids in the interfaces between successive layers and single-line primitives impair mechanical strength. It was understood that printhead movement along the orientation of the parts in the powder bed improved the mechanical properties.

The design of experiment (DOE) method assesses the influence of process parameters on various input printing variables at the same time. As the resources are limited, a fractional factorial plan is carried out on a subset of a full factorial design; hence, providing physical interpretation behind changes in each factor is difficult. OFAT aids in analyzing the effect of a change in one factor on output while all other parameters are kept constant. The results assist engineers in properly considering the influence of variable variations for future DOE designs.

Prefabricated products are continually entering the building construction market; yet, the decision to use prefabricated products in a construction project is based mostly on personal preferences and the evaluation of direct costs. Researchers and practitioners have debated appropriate measurement systems for evaluating the impacts of prefabricated products and for comparing them with conventional on-site construction practices. The more advanced, cost–benefit approach to evaluating prefabricated products often inspires controversy because it may generate inaccurate results when converting non-monetary effects into costs. As prefabrication may affect multiple organisations and product subsystems, the method used to decide on production methods should consider multiple direct and indirect impacts, including nonmonetary ones. Thus, this study aims to develop a multi-criteria method to evaluate both the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabrication solutions to facilitate decision-making on whether to use prefabricated products.

Drawing upon a literature review, this research suggests a multi-criteria method that combines the choosing-by-advantage approach with a cost–benefit analysis. The method was presented for validation in focus group discussions and tested in a case involving a prefabricated bathroom.

The analysis indicates that the method helps a project’s stakeholders communicate about the relative merits of prefabrication and conventional construction while facilitating the final decision of whether to use prefabrication.

This research contributes a method of evaluating the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. The research underlines the need to evaluate the diverse benefits and sacrifices that stakeholder face when considering production methods in construction.