Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the most trending technologies nowadays, and it has the potential to become one of the most disruptive technologies for manufacturing. Academia and industry pay attention to AM because it enables a wide range of new possibilities for design freedom, complex parts production, components, mass personalization, and process improvement. The material extrusion (ME) AM technology for metallic materials is becoming relevant and equivalent to other AM techniques, like laser powder bed fusion. Although ME cannot overpass some limitations, compared with other AM technologies, it enables smaller overall costs and initial investment, more straightforward equipment parametrization, and production flexibility. This study aims to evaluate components produced by ME, or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), with different materials: Inconel 625, H13 SAE, and 17-4PH. The microstructure and mechanical characteristics of manufactured parts were evaluated, confirming the process effectiveness and revealing that this is an alternative for metal-based AM.

Entranceways are blocked with the use of doors. For these to be opened, door handles must be manipulated, making them one of the most used inventions in our lives. This article reviews the topological optimization of a door-handle design, its adaptation to being produced using Additive Manufacturing (AM), and the feasibility of Metal Extrusion as a part fabrication method. Two different door-handle designs were created and optimized with the introduction of lattices and generative design using nTopology software and later produced with Inconel 625 filament.

The evaluation of product cycles has allowed companies to transition from linear to circular production and reuse collected material. However, recycling is only sometimes straightforward and involves the material history of thermal cycles, the recycled content, and other characteristics. Therefore, recycling processes' adversities and products need to be studied. Thus, this study aims to obtain a recycled Onyx filament, a micro carbon fiber-filled nylon, and evaluate its recycling potential to produce 3D printed samples. Tensile tests, optical microscopy, and evaluation of the quality of 3D printed samples and filaments were conducted. Under the studied conditions, the recycled Onyx filament did not present a satisfactory performance for 3D Printing, leading to nozzle clogs and precluding the 3D printed samples from being completed. These problems have been related to previous work. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate Onyx recycling under other conditions, such as recycling conditions or adding virgin material during recycling.

Aluminum structural composites through the infiltration process can be performed by vacuum, centrifugal, or squeeze casting, involving the infiltration of molten Al into fibers, particles, foams, or even porous preforms. This methodology creates hybrid structures of two distinct metal alloys that can be used to locally strengthen components or even to improve the properties of bulk materials, such as ultimate tensile strength and thermal conductivity. New approaches involve the infiltration of liquid Al into a three-dimensional (3D)-printed structure of the more rigid metal, such as steel, that the Al matrix. In the current study, stainless steel and copper inserts were produced by fused filament fabrication techniques with various geometries. Moreover, some 3D inserts were electrochemically coated with pure copper to enhance the wettability of the steel insert by Al. Then, the infiltration of these inserts was evaluated by gravity casting, centrifugal casting, and low-pressure sand casting (LPSC). Evaluations involved microstructural characterization using optical microscopy and SEM for interface analysis. It is revealed that centrifugal casting is highly reliable to infiltrate the inserts with Al, filling detailed cavities in depth. The copper coating aided in the creation of intimate interfaces. The infiltration at the insert's surfaces, curved-like topography, is obtained through LPSC though it is affected by the direction in respect of material flow.

For the last few decades, the rapid growth of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has been seeable. It is expected to keep maturing continuously due to its advantages compared to conventional manufacturing technologies: flexibility, reliability, energy consumption, and material efficiency. This research article addresses the development and production of a stapler using the Material Extrusion AM process. It intends to show the development steps to redesign an everyday stapler, into an added-value tool, from the selection and fixture of the CAD model and generative design through Fusion 360 to its optimization on nTopology, simulation, and plot of the part in Eiger.

The robot gripper works analogously to the human hand, being the end effector of a robotic mechanism and acting as a bridge between the robot and the environment. A topology optimized gripper can be fully functional while allowing weight reduction. In this paper, the topology optimization of a 316L-SS four-clamp gripper capable of withstanding a 2 N load was conducted using the nTopology software. Fusion360 static stress analysis showed a reduction of 43% in weight, keeping the safety factor above 3, and leading to a displacement of 0,0067 mm. Finally, the maximum induced stress was shown not to cause permanent deformation of the clamp since it was observed to be inferior to the yield strength of 316L-SS.

This study delves into optimizing support for Vuzix smart glasses using innovative techniques. By customizing the design for comfort and ergonomics, emphasizing lightweight yet durable materials (Onyx), and employing Fused Filament Fabrication, the research aims to enhance user experience and product longevity, as well as focusing on optimizing the support structure to strike a balance between these essential characteristics. Utilizing cuttingedge software like Fusion 360 and nTopology ensures precision in CAD modeling and validation through simulation, aligning with market demands and driving innovation in wearable technology. A static analysis simulation was also performed to validate the different models made. In the course of this study, generative design and mass usage optimization techniques were applied, resulting in a 31% weight reduction in the hybrid model and 47% in the optimized model, through lattice structures and topological optimizations. While static simulations identified the higher value of stress and displacement in the optimized design, deformation remained consistently low across all models.

Additive Manufacturing, among the many developing advanced manufacturing technologies, stands out as the one with the greatest potential for changing the distribution of manufacturing, society, and sustainability. To produce sustainable and competitive products, component material and design selection is an essential and critical topic in the industry. The production of parts designed using the Design for Additive Manufacturing methodology (DfAM) has grown in popularity in recent years. Topological optimization can be used as a design tool in the early stages of the design process to meet strength and endurance requirements on a component level. This study explores the topology optimization of a gripper clamp through nTopology and Fusion 360, using AISI 316L stainless steel as material, for production through Additive Manufacturing. The final component demonstrated reliable results.

In today's world, additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the most popular technologies and has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. As one of the most recent advances in this industry, liquid metal printing has a growing value in the engineering field. This study aims to evaluate the effect of two heat treatment conditions in an Al-4008 alloy produced by this technique in the microstructure and mechanical properties. It was concluded that the heat treatment (HT) enhances the Si particle coalescence and Fe-rich intermetallic compound precipitation, increasing the sample hardness significantly (50%). Density analysis showed a slight porosity decrease with HT. Tensile tests indicated heat-treated, same-directionally pulled samples exhibited brittleness compared to as-printed ones, while HT increased both yield strength (245 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (294 MPa).