• SOCIETY & ”INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Photogrammetry applications for digitizing cultural heritage artifacts. Case studies: digitalization of different artifacts in Albania

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 9 (2024), Issue 5, pg(s) 195-198

    Ultimately, digitizing cultural heritage is not just about preservation; it is about enriching the cultural narrative, making it inclusive, and ensuring that knowledge and appreciation of our shared history are passed down to future generations. Digitization involves advanced techniques such as 3D scanning, high-resolution photography, and digital modeling. These technologies help create accurate and detailed representations of cultural assets, ensuring that the digital versions retain the original’s integrity and details. Ensuring high reliability for small-sized objects is a crucial challenge in digitizing cultural heritage sites, especially when dealing with objects that lack movement, transporting, low ambient light conditions, reflective material, etc. By incorporating three-dimensional models into the research and dissemination process, cultural heritage institutions can make their work more appealing and accessible to a wider audience, fostering greater appreciation and understanding of our shared cultural heritage.

  • TECHNOLOGIES

    Recycled Polypropylene filament: process optimization for 100 per cent recycled FDM material, optimizing properties and printing techniques

    Machines. Technologies. Materials., Vol. 18 (2024), Issue 8, pg(s) 257-261

    The growing environmental concern about plastic waste has prompted research into sustainable recycling of polymer, particularly for widely used polymers such as polyethylene from the spools used in the textile industry in the second half of the 20th century. This study investigates the feasibility and optimization of recycling Polypropylene to make filaments suited for 3D printing applications, notably Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). The study is divided into three phases: collecting and preparing post-consumer Polypropylene spools, extruding recycled Polypropylene into filaments, and optimizing the filament for 3d printing using FDM Technology.
    Polyethylene spools are cleaned, shredded, and treated to ensure consistent feedstock quality. The extrusion process entailed controlling factors like temperature, screw speed, and cooling rate to produce filaments with constant diameter with less distortion. Following material characterisation, the printability of recycled Polypropylene filaments was evaluated using an FDM 3D printer. The Taguchi method is used to carefully study the influence of printing parameters such as nozzle temperature, bed temperature, print speed, and layer height to determine optimal parameters. The printed examples showed reasonable dimensional accuracy and layer adhesion, with surface roughness values within acceptable limits for practical applications.
    This thorough study plan focuses on recycled Polypropylene as a feasible and sustainable material for FDM 3D printing. The findings indicate that with proper optimization, recycled Polypropylene can match the performance requirements of a variety of applications, helping to reduce waste and promote the circular economy in additive manufacturing. Long-term performance testing and the development of recycling processes will be the primary focus of future research to improve the material’s characteristics and broaden its application range.

  • Microstructure and properties of Ti-TiС composite obtained by hot pressing

    Materials Science. Non-Equilibrium Phase Transformations., Vol. 10 (2024), Issue 1, pg(s) 30-32

    Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a revolutionary technology that allows a production of fully functional metal parts directly from a 3D CAD data, eliminating the investment to production tools and technologies which brings considerable cost and time savings. Metal parts made by DMLS technology are fully comparable with casted or machined parts. A range of application of DMLS technologies is very wide – from prototypes, through short-run production to final products. Advantages of DMLS technology are arising along with complexity of parts – more complex geometry of parts (in terms of shape and occurrence of the detail) make DMLS technology even more
    economically effective.

  • INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

    Numerical modeling and determination of tensile properties of 3D printed composite specimens

    Innovations, Vol. 12 (2024), Issue 2, pg(s) 62-65

    In this paper, the tensile strength of the composite material made of onyx and carbon fibers was investigated. Onyx is a material manufactured by the company Mark Forged, which is used for 3D printing of composite materials. It is a thermoplastic filled with carbon fibers used for printing solid and rigid parts. The tensile test according to the standard ISO 527 was carried out experimentally and the numerical results were obtained by numerically modelling the test specimen and simulating the test in Ansys, after which the results obtained experimentally and numerically were compared.

  • DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Use of precise implantological surgical guides in reconstructions adjacent to teeth with unusual anatomy – use of Dentistry 4.0 technology

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 9 (2024), Issue 4, pg(s) 138-142

    This study aims to present the practical application of the Dentistry 4.0 concept based on obtaining data on the patient’s intraoral situation and bone base using CBCT, processing them into a digital model, creating a digital twin, and then developing an intraprocedural navigation procedure through a dedicated surgical guide and then designing and manufacturing, using 3D printing, implantprosthetic restorations. The study describes the results of the author’s work, indicating the engineering aspects of implant prosthetic treatment based on the description of cases related to the reconstruction of single missing teeth using dental implants implanted in the case of difficult anatomical conditions of the bone base and/or adjacent teeth, with a discussion of the material selection methodology, technological and structural design, using additive manufacturing.
    The technology for the design, manufacture and application of implant-prosthetic restorations developed by the author, preceded by a fully navigated implantation procedure of dental screw implants, illustrates in practice the full application of the Dentistry 4.0 concept, where the latest technologies, including primarily computer-aided design and computer-aided CAD/CAM manufacturing, the use of a digital twin, supporting surgical procedures through the use of templates navigating the operator’s actions and additive manufacturing allow for a radical increase in the availability of implant-prosthetic solutions for patients with difficult anatomical conditions, both due to a limited bone base and anomalies of the anatomy of adjacent teeth. Thanks to the latest technology, not only is it possible to perform this type of procedure, but it is also possible to perform the procedure in a short time, with minimal interference in the patient’s tissues and ensuring the optimal shape of the prosthetic restoration itself.

  • TECHNOLOGIES

    Additive technologies applying in the design, development and filtering materials manufacturing

    Machines. Technologies. Materials., Vol. 18 (2024), Issue 3, pg(s) 88-90

    On the filter for fine air purification example the possibilities of additive technologies are shown, which allow to simplify and facilitate significantly the product development process, in particular, the filtering purpose. The results of 3-D modeling of the filter design, as well as 3-D modeling and 3-D printing of the tooling for studying the properties of filter elements to the filter and their structural elements (except for the filter layer) are given. The possibility of questions operative solution in case of adjustment necessity of tooling designs and filter elements at additive technologies application is noted.

  • BUSINESS

    Recent applications of 3D printed wood/polymer specimens in furniture industry

    Science. Business. Society., Vol. 7 (2022), Issue 2, pg(s) 42-44

    In recent years, 3D printing has gradually appeared in people’s field of vision. The addition of wood in thermoplastics improve their some mechanical properties such as tensile and bending modulus without affecting its biodegradability. The decrease in the cost of filaments may enlarge the utilization of biodegradable filaments after the disposal in near future. Smallscale elements used in furniture production, such as connector fittings or fasteners for shelves, may give functional and structural
    properties without significant investment. 3D-printed connections are suitable when the the production complex shaped connectors and quick disassembly are required, to reduce the product’s weight and price

  • MATERIALS

    Study of age hardened MS1 material after the abrasive water jet application

    Machines. Technologies. Materials., Vol. 16 (2022), Issue 6, pg(s) 217-220

    This contribution deals with the study of cut surface after the abrasive water jet application on the material Maraging Steel MS-1, prepared in the form of 3D printing method Direct Metal Laser Sintering. The aim of the study is to point out the morphology of the cut plane under the use of various technological parameters, like feed rate of machining and abrasive mass flow at the constant cut pressure. For the track morphology monitoring after the abrasive water jet application, scanning electron microscope SEM MIRA 3, f. Tescan, was used. For the identification of observed particles stabbed in the cut track, chemical composition EDX analysis was used.

  • DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Using a 3D printer to innovate textile products

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 7 (2022), Issue 4, pg(s) 139-141

    Today, 3D printing is available not only for industrial, semi-professional use, but also for hobbies and schools. Therefore, students TUL make full use of 3D printing within the subject Project Management. One of the topics they address is use of 3D printing for a textile product. They are looking for an answer to the question: How to 3d printing technology use for made a textile product?

  • DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Survey of process parameters for a better product quality in industrial production with a low-cost 3D printer

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 7 (2022), Issue 4, pg(s) 135-138

    The most important areas of the industry, need products with short development stages. Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), are an integrated solution to the overall conception and product development cycles; the same competition is based on the development of new products with technological features, design and functional solutions in the shortest time. In this paper are discussed different process parameters for fused deposition modelling that affects the parts quality by using a low-cost 3D printer machine in order to produce an industrial product. The process parameters taken into the analysis, resulted effective in improving final parts quality.

  • DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Design and 3D printing of holders for XRF analysis requiring small volumes of sample

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 7 (2022), Issue 1, pg(s) 18-20

    The preparation of XRF tablets with small amounts of samples produced from various synthesis is a challenging operation. Zeolites and other types of samples with minimal volumes are frequently provided for analysis by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Here we present three types of holders made of PLA (polylactic acid) using commercially available 3D printing technology. The employed material is a bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester extracted from renewable resources and is biodegradable. The holders have reduced diameters of the measured area and can accommodate powders, sheets or solid state samples. The holders are basically three-dimensional plastic models that can be designed and printed based on the provided sample. They are low cost and can be easily applied in practice. The design of the first type of holders is targeting powder samples, allowing the reduction of the required amount from 5-10 g per sample to 1 g. The second type of holders aimed the XRF analyses of textile like materials while the third type of design aimed metal alloys. Examples of the use of the holders are the analyses of coins (here 2 leva is shown) and textile samples containing different metals (e.g. zinc).

  • DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”

    Tensile strength and dimensional variances in parts manufactured by sla 3D printing

    Industry 4.0, Vol. 6 (2021), Issue 4, pg(s) 143-149

    With the rise of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, a numerous limitations in conventional manufacturing have been circumvented. Additive manufacturing uses layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional physical models directly from a computeraided design (CAD) model. The CAD design is transformed into horizontal cross-section layers that are stacked together in physical space until the physical model is completed. This process can be used to directly manufacture tools for injection molding or for an y other technology that requires a specific cavity shape to produce a part. This is referred to as Rapid Tooling (RT) and one of the up and coming
    AM technologies is the resin based stereolithography (SLA).
    An increasing number of companies are starting to develop desktop machines that utilize this technology and their low cost an d high speed changes the design workflow. As a printing technology, SLA creates parts with a smooth surface finish which is ideal for applications such as investment casting for developing jewelry or rapid tooling for injection molding.
    The development of rapid tools using SLA usually requires more rigid materials which can withstand higher temperatures and stresses and part models that need to have more accurate dimensions in order for a precise part to be produced from that specific tool. Even though models created by SLA have more isotropic characteristics compared to other 3D printing technologies, there are still some variations linked to the process parameters. This paper covers how orientation of the model on the build plate impacts the pa rt accuracy and the tensile strength of the models. The effects of different post-processing procedures after SLA printing are also taken into consideration, since most resins need to be UV cured after 3D printing in order to achieve maximum mechanical strength.
    This paper gives designers and engineers better understanding on the final properties of the models and the tolerances that have to be taken into consideration when designing parts intended to be manufactured via SLA 3D printing.