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Ionospheric variability produces measurable effects in Doppler shift of HF (high-frequency, 3–30 MHz) skywave signals. These effects are straightforward to measure with low-cost equipment and are conducive to citizen science campaigns. The low-cost Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) network is a modular network of community-maintained, open-source receivers, which measure Doppler shift in the precise carrier signals of time standard stations. The primary goal of this paper is to explain the types of measurements this instrument can make and some of its use cases, demonstrating its role as the building block for a large-scale ionospheric and HF propagation measurement network which complements existing professional networks. Here, data from the PSWS network are presented for a period of time spanning late 2019 to early 2022. Software tools for the visualization and analysis of this living dataset are also discussed and provided. These tools are robust to data interruptions and to the addition, removal or modification of stations, allowing both short- and long-term visualization at higher density and faster cadence than other methods. These data may be used to supplement observations made with other geospace instruments in event-based analyses, e.g., traveling ionospheric disturbances and solar flares, and to assess the accuracy of the bottomside estimates of ionospheric models by comparing the oblique paths obtained by ionospheric ray tracers with those obtained by these receivers. The data are archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6622111 (Collins, 2022).

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the microstructural evolution of high-strength 2024 Al alloy prepared by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) route. The high-strength wrought Al alloy has typically been unsuitable for AM due to its particular solidification characteristics such as hot cracking, porosity and columnar grain growth. Design/methodology/approach In this research work, samples were fabricated using L-PBF under various laser energy densities by varying laser power and scan speed. The microstructural features that developed during the solidification are correlated with operating laser parameters. In addition, finite element modelling (FEM) was performed to understand the experimentally observed results. Findings Microstructure evolution and defect formation have been assessed, quantified and correlated with operating laser parameters. Thermal behaviour of samples was predicted using FEM to support experimental observations. An optimised combination of intermediate laser power and scan speed produced the least defects. Higher energy density increased hot tearing along the columnar grain boundaries, while lower energy density promoted void formation. From the quantitative results, it is evident that with increasing energy density, both the top surface and side wall roughness initially reduced till a minimum and then increased. Hardness and compressive strength were found to decrease with increasing power density due to stress relaxation from hot tearing. Originality/value This research work examined how L-PBF processing conditions influence the microstructure, defects, surface roughness and mechanical properties. The results indicates that complete elimination of solidification cracks can be only achieved by combining process optimisation and possible grain refining strategies.

Ionospheric variability due to atmospheric coupling produces measurable effects in Doppler shift of HF (high frequency, 3–30 MHz) skywave signals. These effects are straightforward to measure with low-cost equipment and are conducive to citizen science campaigns. The Personal Space Weather Station network is a modular network of community-maintained, open-source receivers, which measure Doppler shift in the precise carrier signals of time standard stations WWV, WWVH and CHU. Here, data from the first prototype of the Low-Cost Personal Space Weather Station are presented for a period of time spanning late 2019 to early 2022. Software tools for the visualization and analysis of this living dataset are also discussed and provided. These tools are robust to data interruptions and to the addition, removal or modification of stations, allowing both short- and long-term visualization at higher density and faster cadence than other methods. These data are archived at www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6622111 (Collins, 2022).

This paper reviews 20 representative Ph.D. dissertations on second language (L2) writing and technology completed in the USA over the past decade (2010–2019). These dissertations were selected using advanced search via ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Five thematic categories were examined: (1) computer-mediated teacher/peer feedback; (2) automated writing evaluation; (3) computer-based collaborative writing; (4) technology-based writing instruction/assessment; and (5) digital composing/literacy. Each dissertation study was closely reviewed, with the presentation of illustrative tables. After analyzing and discussing the research designs, findings, and contributions of these studies, the authors identified the research trend and highlighted directions for future dissertation research in the field of L2 writing and technology.

The aim of this study was to identify the effect of material type (matrix and reinforcement) and process parameters, on the mechanical properties of 3D Printed long-fibre reinforced polymer composites manufactured using a commercial 3D Printer (Mark Two). The effect of matrix material (Onyx or polyamide), reinforcement type (Carbon, Kevlar®, and HSHT glass), volume of reinforcement, and reinforcement lay-up orientation on both Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and Flexural Modulus were investigated.For Onyx, carbon fibre reinforcement offered the largest increase in both UTS and Flexural Modulus over unreinforced material (1228 ± 19% and 1114 ± 6% respectively). Kevlar® and HSHT also provided improvements but these were less significant. Similarly, for Nylon, the UTS and Flexural Modulus were increased by 1431 ± 56% and 1924 ± 5% by the addition of carbon fibre reinforcement. Statistical analysis indicated that changing the number of layers of reinforcement had the largest impact on both UTS and Flexural Strength, and all parameters were statistically significant.

Low-terahertz (Low-THz, 100 GHz-1.0 THz) technology is expected to provide unprecedented data rates in future generations of wireless system such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system. Increasing the carrier frequencies from millimeter wave to THz is a potential solution to guarantee the transmission rate and channel capacity. Due to the large transmission loss of Low-THz wave in free space, it is particularly urgent to design high-gain antennas to compensate the additional path loss, and to overcome the power limitation of Low-THz source. Recently, with the continuous updating and progress of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) technology, antennas with complicated structures can now be easily manufactured with high precision and low cost. In the first part, this paper demonstrates different approaches of recent development on wideband and high gain sub-millimeter-wave and Low-THz antennas as well as their fabrication technologies. In addition, the performances of the state-of-the-art wideband and high-gain antennas are presented. A comparison among these reported antennas is summarized and discussed. In the second part, one case study of a broadband high-gain antenna at 300 GHz is introduced, which is an all-metal model based on the Fabry-Perot cavity (FPC) theory. The proposed FPC antenna is very suitable for manufacturing using AM technology, which provides a low-cost, reliable solution for emerging THz applications.

The mechanical response of steel auxetic structures manufactured using laser-powder bed fusion was explored. The level of control exerted by the key design parameters of vertical strut length (H), re-entrant strut length (L), strut thickness (t) and re-entrant angle (ϴ) on the mechanical response was examined through a design of experiment approach with ANOVA statistical analysis methods applied. The elastic modulus in directions normal to (Ex) and parallel to (Ey) the vertical strut was found to be primarily dependent upon t and L, respectively, whereas yield strength in both test directions (&sigma, x and &sigma, y) was strongly dependent on t and L. A large variation in modulus was found between the two test directions (Ex / Ey &ndash, 1.02 &plusmn, 0.07 GPa/ 4.4 &plusmn, 0.1 GPa), whereas, yield strength showed little anisotropy (&sigma, x / &sigma, y&ndash, 45 &plusmn, 6 MPa/ 45 &plusmn, 9 MPa). Poisson&rsquo, s ratio parallel to the vertical strut varied considerably with geometry but not in a direction normal to the vertical strut. Deformation mechanisms were found to be different of compression in the x and y directions, being a combination of stretching of the vertical strut, compression, bending and hinging of the re-entrant strut (x), and vertical strut compression and re-entrant strut stretching and bending (y).

This paper reviews state of the art additive manufactured (AM) IN718 alloy intended for high-temperature applications. AM processes have been around for decades and have gained traction in the past five years due to the huge economic benefit this brings to manufacturers. It is crucial for the scientific community to look into AM IN718 applicability in order to see a step-change in production. Microstructural studies reveal that the grain structure plays a significant role in determining the fatigue lifespan of the material. Controlling IN718 respective phases such as the ϒ’’, δ and Laves phase is seen to be crucial. Literature reviews have shown that the mechanical properties of AM IN718 were very close to its wrought counterpart when treated appropriately. Higher homogenization temperature and longer ageing were recommended to dissolve the damaging phases. Various surface enhancement techniques were examined to find out their compatibility to AM IN718 alloy that is intended for high-temperature application. Laser shock peening (LSP) technology stands out due to the ability to impart low cold work which helps in containing the beneficial compressive residual stress it brings in a high-temperature fatigue environment.

This paper reviews state of the art Additive Manufactured (AM) IN718 alloy intended for high temperature applications. AM processes have been around for decades and have gained traction in the past five years due to the huge economic benefit it brings to manufacturers. It is crucial for the scientific community to look into AM IN718 applicability in order to see a step-change in the production. Microstructural studies reveal that the grain structure plays a significant role in determining the fatigue lifespan of the material. Controlling IN718 respective phases such as the ϒ’', δ and Laves phase is seen to be crucial. Literature reviews have shown that the mechanical properties of AM IN718 were very close to its wrought counterpart when treated appropriately. Higher homogenization temperature and longer ageing were recommended to dissolve the damaging phases. Various surface enhancement techniques were examined to find out their compatibility to AM IN718 alloy that is intended for high temperature application. Laser shock peening (LSP) technology stands out due to the ability to impart low cold work which helps in containing the beneficial compressive residual stress it brings in high temperature fatigue environment.

The formulation of a high dielectric permittivity ceramic/polymer composite feedstock for daylight vat photopolymerization 3D printing (3DP) is demonstrated, targeting 3DP of devices for microwave and THz applications. The precursor is composed of a commercial visible light photo-reactive polymer (VIS-curable photopolymer) and dispersed titanium dioxide (TiO2, TO) ceramic nano-powder or calcium copper titanate (CCT) micro-powder. To provide consistent 3DP processing from the formulated feedstocks, the carefully chosen dispersant performed the double function of adjusting the overall viscosity of the photopolymer and provided good matrix-to-filler bonding. Depending on the ceramic powder content, the optimal viscosities for reproducible 3DP with resolution better than 100 &micro, m were &eta, (TO) = 1.20 &plusmn, 0.02 Pa.s and &eta, (CCT) = 0.72 &plusmn, 0.05 Pa.s for 20% w/v TO/resin and 20% w/v CCT/resin composites at 0.1 s&minus, 1 respectively, thus showing a significant dependence of the &ldquo, printability&rdquo, on the dispersed particle sizes. The complex dielectric properties of the as-3D printed samples from pure commercial photopolymer and the bespoke ceramic/photopolymer mixes are investigated at 2.5 GHz, 5 GHz, and in the 12&ndash, 18 GHz frequency range. The results show that the addition of 20% w/v of TO and CCT ceramic powder to the initial photopolymer increased the real part of the permittivity of the 3DP composites from &epsilon, &rsquo, = 2.7 &plusmn, 0.02 to &epsilon, (TO) = 3.88 &plusmn, 0.02 and &epsilon, (CCT) = 3.5 &plusmn, 0.02 respectively. The present work can be used as a guideline for high-resolution 3DP of structures possessing high-&epsilon

An investigation on antenna solutions for expendable origami paper flapping robots is presented. An origami flapping robotic bird that can be produced using standard A4 paper is employed. Antennas resonating at the two commonly used frequency bands, 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz, are designed for the limited space available on the folded origami structure. Two developments of the same dual-band monopole antenna are discussed. The first antenna is located on the robot's spine and the second on its tail. A space diversity configuration is also studied. The antennas are printed directly onto a photo paper substrate and then folded into an origami robotic crane's body structure. An ordinary desktop inkjet printer fitted with silver nanoparticle conductive ink cartridges has been employed. CST Microwave StudioTM has been used to design the antennas. A good agreement between the measured and simulated S11 results is achieved with a reasonable -10dB impedance bandwidth realized in the three cases studied. The radiation patterns are omnidirectional in the XZ plane which is desirable for the specific application. The diversity configuration has a mutual coupling of

Inspired by the miniaturization and efficiency of the sensors for telemetry, we have developed a device that provides the functionalities of laboratory magnetic stirring and integrated multisensor monitoring of various chemical reaction parameters. The device, called “Smart Stirrer”, when immersed in a solution, can in situ monitor physical properties of the chemical reaction such as the temperature, conductivity, visible spectrum, opaqueness, stirring rate, and viscosity. This data is transmitted real-time over a wireless connection to an external system, such as a PC or smartphone. The flexible open-source software architecture allows effortless programming of the operation parameters of the Smart Stirrer in accordance with the end-user needs. The concept of the Smart Stirrer device with an integrated process monitoring system has been demonstrated in a series of experiments showing its capability for many hours of continuous telemetry with fine accuracy and a high data rate. Such a device can be used in conventional research laboratories, industrial production lines, flow reactors, and others where it can log the state of the process to ensure repeatability and operational consistency.

This paper presents a low-cost and high-gain beam-scanning antenna around 140.0 GHz with partially reflecting surface (PRS). The PRS is composed by two layers of metal grids and exhibits a positive reflection phase gradient over frequency. The phase difference could be achieved by the thickness of PRS layer. To validate this design and meet the low-cost requirements, this antenna will be printed by additive manufacturing (AM) technology.

This paper reports the design and fabrication of a novel all-metal antenna operating in the millimeter-wave band. Based on the resonant cavity antenna (RCA) concept, the principle of antenna operation is explained, and a parametric study of several key design parameters is provided. A novel impedance matching technique is introduced to broaden the antenna return loss bandwidth. Two gain enhancement methods have been employed to achieve a more directive beam with reduced side lobes and back lobes. The D-band antenna prototypes are produced using i) all-metal printing without any post-processing; ii) dielectric printing with copper metallization applied later. Comparisons of the simulated and measured results amongst the antennas fabricated using the two additive manufacturing techniques are made. Measurement results of the two antenna prototypes show that the proposed design can achieve a 14.2% bandwidth with a maximum gain of 15.5 dBi at 135 GHz. The present work is the first D-band resonant cavity antenna fabricated using two different 3D printing methods.

This paper presents a novel low-cost and high-gain fabry-perot resonator antenna (FPRA) at 140.0 GHz with additive manufacturing (AM) technology. A simple $2\times 2$ waveguide slot array is adopted as the feed antenna in this design. A layer of partially reflective surface (PRS), which is composed by two layers of metal grids and exhibits a positive reflection phase gradient over frequency, is placed above the feed antenna to improve the directivity radiation. To validate this design and meet the low-cost requirements, this antenna is printed by AM technique. Compared to previous high gain antennas, our design has the advantage of simple structure and low-cost because of applying fewer feeding networks and adopting 3-D printing technology.

This paper presents a novel design of a wideband high-gain resonant cavity antenna (RCA) for millimetre and\ud submillimetre wave bands, and its fabrication using additive manufacturing. The proposed RCA antenna consists of a partially\ud reflecting surface and three impedance matching layers fed by a waveguide. Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are\ud utilized to fabricate the design operating at 30 GHz. Two fabrication techniques are assessed for printing the antenna. The\ud first technique is based on printing a dielectric material and fully coating the parts with a metallic layer, while the second\ud technique involves printing the parts in a single process using metal 3D printing. The first technique offers a lightweight\ud solution while the second technique can print the whole model in one run. The antenna design is investigated by both\ud simulations and experiments. The measured results show an 3dB gain bandwidth of about 10%, and high gain over 15 dBi\ud for all the three resulting antennas. Good agreement between simulation and measurement is obtained. The antenna has a\ud low cost and achieved good performance in terms of wide bandwidth and high gain, thus it is potentially useful for highspeed\ud wireless communications at millimetre-wave and sub-millimetre-wave frequencies.

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic alloys for structural and functional applications has attracted significant interest in the last two decades as it brings a step change in the philosophy of design and manufacturing. The ability to design and fabricate complex geometries not amenable to conventional manufacturing, and the potential to reduce component weight without compromising performance, is particularly attractive for aerospace and automotive applications. This has culminated in rapid progress in AM with Ti- and Ni-based alloys. In contrast, the development of AM with Al-alloys has been slow, despite their widespread adoption in industry owing to an excellent combination of low density and high strength-to-weight ratio. Research to date has focused on castable and weldable AlSiMg-based alloys (which are less desirable for demanding structural applications), as well as on the development of new AM-specific AlMgSc alloys (based on 5xxx series). However, high strength wrought Al-alloys have typically been unsuitable for AM due to their unfavourable microstructural characteristics under rapid directional solidification conditions. Nevertheless, recent research has shown that there is promise in overcoming the associated challenges. Herein, we present a review of the current status of AM with Al-alloys. We primarily focus on the microstructural characteristics, and on exploring how these influence mechanical properties. The current metallurgical understanding of microstructure and defect formation in Al-alloys during AM is discussed, along with recent promising research exploring various microstructural modification methodologies. Finally, the remaining challenges in the development of AM with high-strength Al-alloys are discussed.

Neutron diffraction and curvature measurements were conducted to investigate the residual stresses associated with Plasma Transferred Arc Cladding (PTA) of Ti-6Al-4V on a substrate of the same material. The wire-feed PTA coupled with 3-axis CNC machine was used as an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique to build parts. A combination of the process parameters was chosen to investigate their effects on residual stress evolution. Neutron Diffraction (ND) measurements of residual strains were performed on the SALSA instrument at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble, France. Longitudinal stresses were also inferred by using a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) and Euler-Bernoulli beam theorem. Furthermore, Optical Microscopy (OM) of the cross section of the parts was used to analyse the microstructural evolution. The results show the effect of shorter and longer ‘dwell time’ between layers on the evolution of residual stresses.

The present study demonstrates for the first time a unique UK-designed and built Additive Manufacturing (AM) hybrid system that combines polymer based structural deposition with digital deposition of electrically conductive elements. This innovative manufacturing system is based on a multi-planar build approach to improve on many of the limitations associated with AM, such as poor surface finish, low geometric tolerance and poor robustness. Specifically, the approach involves a multi-planar Material Extrusion (ME) process in which separated build stations with up to 5 axes of motion replace traditional horizontally-sliced layer modelling. The construction of multi-material architectures also involved using multiple print systems in order to combine both ME and digital deposition of conductive material. To demonstrate multi-material 3D Printing (3DP) we used three thermoplastics to print specimens, on top of which a unique Ag nano-particulate ink was printed using a non-contact jetting process, during which drop characteristics such as shape, velocity, and volume were assessed using a bespoke drop watching system. Electrical analysis of printed conductive tracks on polymer surfaces was performed during mechanical testing (static tensile and flexural testing and dynamic fatigue testing) to assess robustness of the printed circuits. Both serpentine and straight line patterns were used in the testing of Ag particle loaded ink and they showed very similar resistance changes during mechanical exposure. Monitored resistance and stress changed as a function of strain exhibiting hysteresis with more prominent residual strain during stretching and compression cycles and 3-point bending flexural tests of PA and CoPA substrates. Bare and encapsulated tracks exhibited low electrical resistivity (1–3*10−6 Ω*m), and its change was more rapid on ABS and minor on PA and CoPA when increasing tensile and flexural strain up to 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. Resistance of Ag tracks on ABS also increased rapidly during fatigue testing and the tracks easily fractured during repeated stretching-compression cycles at 1% and 1.2% strain. No resistance changes of Ag tracks printed on PA and CoPA were observed at lower strain amplitudes whereas at higher strain amplitudes these changes were the lowest for conductive tracks on CoPA. Thermal analyses were conducted to determine the printed material’s glass transition temperature (Tg), stability and degradation behavior to find the optimum annealing conditions post printing. The novel AM printer has the ability to fabricate fully functional objects in one build, including integrated printed circuitry and embedded electronics. It enables product designers and manufactures to produce functional saleable electronic products. This new technology also gives the opportunity for designers to improve existing products, as well as create new products with the added advantages of geometrically unconstrained 3DP.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the digestibility of a novel liquid feed, Condensed Algal Residue Solubles (Veramaris, Blair, NE) in finishing cattle diets. Mass production of algae to harvest omega-3 fatty acids results in byproduct production of CARS (25.4% DM, 19.3% CP, 8.3% Fat, 9.96% Na on DM basis), made up of the de-oiled algae cells and residual fermentation substrates. The CARS product has generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. Six ruminally and duodenally cannulated crossbred steers were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatments over 3 collection periods, for a 3 x 3 replicated Latin Square design. Treatments differed by increasing inclusion of CARS (0, 2.5, and 5% of diet DM) fed with CARS replacing steam flaked corn (72, 69.5, and 67% of diet DM as CARS inclusion increased). All diets contained 15% dry distillers grains, 8% alfalfa haylage, and 5% supplement. Cattle were dosed with 10 g of titanium dioxide per day. Duodenal and fecal samples were collected four times per day across four days and composited by period for each animal. Fecal samples were analyzed for titanium dioxide concentration to determine fecal output and diet digestibility. Data were analyzed with CARS inclusion and period as fixed effects and animal as a random effect. Orthogonal contrasts were used to test linear and quadratic effects of CARS inclusion. There were no significant differences for DM intake and OM intake between the different CARS inclusions (P ≥ 0.17), averaging 7.76 kg DM/d and 6.94 kg OM/d. Total tract DM digestibility was not affected by treatment (P ≥ 0.71) and averaged 73.0%. Total tract OM digestibility was also not different between treatments (P ≥ 0.93) and averaged 71.1%. Replacing steam flaked corn with CARS up to 5% of diet DM in finishing cattle diets did not affect diet digestibility.

A commercial feedlot trial evaluated a 3-implant re-implant program using Revalor-IH/Revalor-H/Revalor-200 compared to a single Revalor-XH (200 mg TBA and 20 mg E2 partially coated) implant strategy on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of calf fed heifers. Heifer calves (n = 1356) were purchased through time and blocked by source and arrival date, assigned randomly to pen within block, and pen assigned randomly to one of the two implant treatments. Heifers who received the 3-implant re-implant treatment were re-implanted on d67 with Revalor-H and on d137 with Revalor-200. Each block of cattle were harvested on the same study day, which averaged 215 days on feed. Performance data were analyzed as a randomized block design, with the blocking factor as source/arrival time being considered random. Implant strategy was analyzed as a fixed effect with pen (n = 20) as the experimental unit. On a live basis, heifers implanted with Revalor-XH had a tendency for a greater gain efficiency (P = 0.06) though there were no significant differences between implant treatments for final body weight, gain or intake (P ≥ 0.15). There were no significant differences between implant treatments for hot carcass weight, gain, or gain efficiency (P ≥ 0.29) on a carcass-adjust basis. Marbling score and 12th rib fat thickness were not impacted by implant treatment (P ≥ 0.80); however, there was an increase in LM area (P = 0.02) for heifers on the 3-implant re-implant treatment compared to the Revalor-XH implanted heifers. There was also a tendency for a greater calculated YG in heifers who received Revalor-XH (P = 0.07). Heifers fed for approximately 215 d with a single Revalor-XH implant performed similarly to heifers fed the same amount of days receiving a 3-implant re-implant strategy using Revalor-IH/H/200 combination.

BACKGROUND: In computed tomography (CT), the spot geometry is one of the main sources of error in CT images. Since X-rays do not arise from a point source, artefacts are produced. In particular there is a penumbra effect, leading to poorly defined edges within a reconstructed volume. Penumbra models can be simulated given a fixed spot geometry and the known experimental setup. OBJECTIVE: This paper proposes to use a penumbra model, derived from Beer’s law, both to confirm spot geometry from penumbra data, and to quantify blurring in the image. METHODS: Two models for the spot geometry are considered; one consists of a single Gaussian spot, the other is a mixture model consisting of a Gaussian spot together with a larger uniform spot. RESULTS: The model consisting of a single Gaussian spot has a poor fit at the boundary. The mixture model (which adds a larger uniform spot) exhibits a much improved fit. The parameters corresponding to the uniform spot are similar across all powers, and further experiments suggest that the uniform spot produces only soft X-rays of relatively low-energy. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the precision of radiographs can be estimated from the penumbra effect in the image. The use of a thin copper filter reduces the size of the effective penumbra.

The most common method for Additive Manufacturing (AM) of polymers is melt extrusion, which normally requires several pre-processing steps to compound and extrude filament feedstock, resulting in an overall long melt residency time. Consequently a typical melt extrusion-based AM process is time/cost consuming, and limited in the availability of materials that can be processed. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is one of the heat-sensitive polymers demonstrating a thermal decomposition temperature overlapping its processing window. This study proposed to use a pellet-fed material extrusion technique to directly process PVOH granules without the necessity of using any pre-processing steps. The approach essentially combined compounding, extrusion and AM, allowing multi-material printing with minimum exposure to heat during the process. The processing parameters were determined via thermal and rheological characterisation of PVOH. Effects of processing temperature and time on the thermal decomposition of PVOH were demonstrated, which further affected the tensile properties and solubility. An increase in Young’s modulus, stress at 2% strain, and Ultimate Tensile Stress were 98 ± 4%, 40 ± 5%, and 20 ± 2%, respectively, was observed when PVOH residency time was reduced from 25 min to 14 min. The pellet-fed material extrusion technology demonstrated good 3D printability, multi-material printing capability, and great versatility in processing polymer melts.

A new practical workflow for the laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process, incorporating topological design, mechanical simulation, manufacture, and validation by computed tomography is presented, uniquely applied to a consumer product (crank for a high-performance racing bicycle), an approach that is tangible and adoptable by industry. The lightweight crank design was realised using topology optimisation software, developing an optimal design iteratively from a simple primitive within a design space and with the addition of load boundary conditions (obtained from prior biomechanical crank force&ndash, angle models) and constraints. Parametric design modification was necessary to meet the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) considerations for PBF to reduce build time, material usage, and post-processing labour. Static testing proved performance close to current market leaders with the PBF manufactured crank found to be stiffer than the benchmark design (static load deflection of 7.0 &plusmn, 0.5 mm c.f. 7.67 mm for a Shimano crank at a competitive mass (155 g vs. 175 g). Dynamic mechanical performance proved inadequate, with failure at 2495 &plusmn, 125 cycles, the failure mechanism was consistent in both its form and location. This research is valuable and novel as it demonstrates a complete workflow from design, manufacture, post-treatment, and validation of a highly loaded PBF manufactured consumer component, offering practitioners a validated approach to the application of PBF for components with application outside of the accepted sectors (aerospace, biomedical, autosports, space, and power generation).

A new practical workflow for the laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process, incorporating topological design, mechanical simulation, manufacture, and validation by computed tomography is presented, uniquely applied to a consumer product (crank for a high-performance racing bicycle), an approach that is tangible and adoptable by industry. The lightweight crank design was realised using topology optimisation software, developing an optimal design iteratively from a simple primitive within a design space and with the addition of load boundary conditions (obtained from prior biomechanical crank force–angle models) and constraints. Parametric design modification was necessary to meet the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) considerations for PBF to reduce build time, material usage, and post-processing labour. Static testing proved performance close to current market leaders with the PBF manufactured crank found to be stiffer than the benchmark design (static load deflection of 7.0 ± 0.5 mm c.f. 7.67 mm for a Shimano crank at a competitive mass (155 g vs. 175 g). Dynamic mechanical performance proved inadequate, with failure at 2495 ± 125 cycles; the failure mechanism was consistent in both its form and location. This research is valuable and novel as it demonstrates a complete workflow from design, manufacture, post-treatment, and validation of a highly loaded PBF manufactured consumer component, offering practitioners a validated approach to the application of PBF for components with application outside of the accepted sectors (aerospace, biomedical, autosports, space, and power generation).