Multi-disciplinary approach in engineering education: learning with additive manufacturing and reverse engineering

Gatto, Andrea; Bassoli, Elena; Denti, Lucia; Iuliano, Luca; Minetola, Paolo

doi:10.1108/rpj-09-2014-0134

Cited by 30 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In another multi-disciplinary research conducted by Gatto et al (2015) with focus on engineering education, that is, an approach into learning with AM and reverse engineering. This study was conducted at an Italian university called University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.…”

Section: Recent Studies On Additive Manufacturing Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framework for effective additive manufacturing education: a case study of South African universities

Alabi

Beer

Wichers

et al. 2019

RPJ

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Purpose In this era of Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, additive manufacturing (AM) has been recognized as one of the nine technologies of Industry 4.0 that will revolutionize different sectors (such as manufacturing and industrial production). Therefore, this study aims to focus on “Additive Manufacturing Education” and the primary aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of AM technology at selected South African universities and develop a proposed framework for effective AM education using South African universities as the case study. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research approach was used in this study, that is, a survey (questionnaire) was designed specifically to investigate the impacts of the existing AM technology/education and the facilities at the selected South African universities. The survey was distributed to several students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and the academic staffs within the selected universities. The questionnaire contained structured questions based on five factors/variables and followed by two open-ended questions. The data were collected and analyzed using statistical tools and were interpreted accordingly (i.e. both the closed and open-ended questions). The hypotheses were stated, tested and accepted. In conclusion, the framework for AM education at the universities was developed. Findings Based on different literature reviewed on “framework for AM technology and education”, there is no specific framework that centers on AM education and this makes it difficult to find an existing framework for AM education to serve as a landscape to determine the new framework for AM education at the universities. Therefore, the results from this study made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in AM, most especially in the area of education. The significant positive responses from the respondents have shown that the existing AM in-house facilities at the selected South African universities is promoting AM education and research activities. This study also shows that a number of students at the South African universities have access to AM/3D printing lab for design and research purposes. Furthermore, the findings show that the inclusion of AM education in the curriculum of both the science and engineering education is South Africa will bring very positive results. The introduction of a postgraduate degree in AM such as MSc or MEng in AM will greatly benefit the South African universities and different industries because it will increase the number of AM experts and professionals. Through literature review, this study was able to identify five factors (which includes sub-factors) that are suitable for the development of a framework for AM education, and this framework is expected to serve as base-line or building block for other universities globally to build/develop their AM journey. Research limitations/implications The survey was distributed to 200 participants and 130 completed questionnaires were returned. The target audience for the survey was mainly university students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and the academics who have access to AM machines or have used the AM/3D printing lab/facilities on their campuses for both academic and research purposes. Therefore, one of the limitations of the survey is the limited sample size; however, the sample size for this survey is considered suitable for this type of research and would allow generalization of the findings. Nevertheless, future research on this study should use larger sample size for purpose of results generalization. In addition, this study is limited to quantitative research methodology; future study should include qualitative research method. Irrespective of any existing or developed framework, there is always a need to further improve the existing framework, and therefore, the proposed framework for AM education in this study contained only five factors/variables and future should include some other factors (AM commercialization, AM continuous Improvement, etc.) to further enhance the framework. Practical implications This study provides the readers and researchers within the STEM education, industry or engineering education/educators to see the importance of the inclusion of AM in the university curriculum for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. More so, this study serves as a roadmap for AM initiative at the universities and provides necessary factors to be considered when the universities are considering or embarking on AM education/research journey at their universities. It also serves as a guideline or platform for various investors or individual organization to see the need to invest in AM education. Originality/value The contribution of this study towards the existing body of knowledge in AM technology, specifically “AM education research” is in the form of proposed framework for AM education at the universities which would allow the government sectors/industry/department/bodies and key players in AM in South Africa and globally to see the need to invest significantly towards the advancement of AM technology, education and research activities at various universities.

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Section: Recent Studies On Additive Manufacturing Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framework for effective additive manufacturing education: a case study of South African universities

Alabi

Beer

Wichers

et al. 2019

RPJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The social impacts of AM on education depend on the integration strategy into educational systems [34,35] and on the maturity and gaps of those systems [15]. AM technology brings new challenges, and its impacts on skills and education requirements remain to be studied [17,36,37]. This technology presents high potential, especially for engineering training [34,38], since it allows the use of physical prototypes for educational objectives [39][40][41][42], for the "Teaching Factory Concept" [43], and as part of research efforts in universities [36].…”

Section: Additive Manufacturingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the interviewees mentioned that recruitment processes in engineering areas are already valuing knowledge of the use of 3D technology. The importance of developing new skills and competencies for AM is also mentioned in the literature as a positive effect [11,17,36,37].…”

Section: Impacts On Economic and Materials Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts

Matos¹,

Godina

Jacinto

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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Despite the myriad of possibilities and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, knowledge about the social impacts of this technology is very scarce and very limited in some areas. This paper explores how factors generated by the development of AM technology may create social impacts, affecting the health and social well-being of people, quality of life, working conditions, and the creation of wealth. This paper presents the results of an exploratory multiple case study conducted among four Portuguese organizations that use AM technology, aiming to determine their perceptions regarding the social impacts of AM, its effects, and causes. The results confirm that AM technology is mainly seen to create positive impacts on health and safety (regarding physical hazards), on expectations for the future, on leisure and recreation, on low disruption with the local economy, on economic prosperity, on the professional status, and on innovative employment types. Nevertheless, a negative impact was also found on health and safety (concerning hazardous substances), as well as several mixed and null impacts. The main limitations of the research arise from the use of a case study methodology, since the results can be influenced by contextual factors, such as the size of the organizations in the sample, and/or social, cultural, technological, political, economic, and ecological factors. This study gives an up-to-date contribution to the topic of AM social impacts and social changes, an area which is still little-explored in the literature.

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“…Its applications are in various fields like medical, dentistry, engineering, automobile, aerospace, architecture, food and agriculture. [7][8][9] This technology helps brings direct manufacturing of the product from the research & development phase as well as in the education environment. It creates possibilities for new development and direction in business, designer, manufacturer and researcher.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D printed medical parts with different materials using additive manufacturing

Haleem

Javaid

2020

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health

100

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Additive manufacturing has the potential to improve the design and development of medical parts and products. This technology is applied for the manufacturing of customised and sophisticated products with different materials, thereby performing it with lesser wastage of time and material. There is a scope to achieve various flexibilities by using different software and technological platforms. AM helps improve the accuracy and reliability of the design, as well as ease of design. This technology is now available for improving the performance of medical part by providing unique and innovative design through the use of different materials with improved quality of the product. This emerging technology provides an extensive capability for future development.

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Multi-disciplinary approach in engineering education: learning with additive manufacturing and reverse engineering

Cited by 30 publications

References 23 publications

Framework for effective additive manufacturing education: a case study of South African universities

Framework for effective additive manufacturing education: a case study of South African universities

Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts

3D printed medical parts with different materials using additive manufacturing

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