The Future of Additive Manufacturing Technologies

This free online course opens with a discussion of machine intelligence. We lay out its objectives from different perspectives that reflect the multiple expectations defined by contemporary manufacturing paradigms. We then examine the idea of blockchain and its advantages before delving into several key features such as the centralized and decentralized distributed ledger, mining, cryptographic proof of work, digital signatures and more. The course outlines the history of additive manufacturing (AM) and breaks down some of its important concepts like material choice, categories and typical applications. We also conduct a brief discussion of metal AM technologies.

We deepen our analysis of AM by examining two of its popular processes: laser powder bed fusion and vat polymerization. The course compares the two processes and studies their schematics, process flows, material options, support structures, build parameters and process requirements. We then ground this knowledge in examples of both processes before moving on to other categories of AM.

Finally, we provide an overview of design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) and analyze its approaches, including system, part and process design. We establish the importance of DFAM with a few case studies before diving into the AM supply chain. We cover its advantages, challenges, limitations, models and the impact of 3D printing. This course can take your knowledge of 3D printing from a theoretical to a practical level to help you take advantage of this exciting emerging technology.