Surface Properties and Tribological Behavior of Additively Manufactured Components: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Innovative additive manufacturing processes for resilient and sustainable production will become even more important in the upcoming years. Due to the targeted and flexible use of materials, additive manufacturing allows for conserving resources and lightweight design enabling energy-efficient systems. While additive manufacturing processes were used in the past several decades mainly for high-priced individualized components and prototypes, the focus is now increasingly shifting to near-net-shape series production and the production of spare parts, whereby surface properties and the tribological behavior of the manufactured parts is becoming more and more important. Therefore, the present review provides a comprehensive overview of research in tribology to date in the field of additively manufactured components. Basic research still remains the main focus of the analyzed 165 papers. However, due to the potential of additive manufacturing processes in the area of individualized components, a certain trend toward medical technology applications can be identified for the moment. Regarding materials, the focus of previous studies has been on metals, with stainless steel and titanium alloys being the most frequently investigated materials. On the processing side, powder bed processes are mainly used. Based on the present literature research, the expected future trends in the field of tribology of additively manufactured components can be identified. In addition to further basic research, these include, above all, aspects of process optimization, function integration, coating, and post-treatment of the surfaces.

Vastness of Tribology Research Fields and Their Contribution to Sustainable Development

“…Additive manufacturing processes are becoming more important today. A comprehensive overview of tribological research in the field of additively manufactured components is reported in the work presented in [51]. The possibility of remanufacturing worn machine components, for instance, bearings and gears that reduce waste and emissions compared with the production of new parts, must be taken into account starting from the first steps of a correct tribological design.…”

Let’s Print an Ecology in 3D (and 4D)

“…lated to modelling approaches [16,[18][19][20] and developing new methods [21][22][23][24][25]; (2) related to environment such as smart farming and agriculture, including agriculture 4.0 [26], and the environmental impacts of additive manufacturing, including life-cycle assessment [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]; and (3) new printed materials for different industries and their physical, chemical, and mechanical properties [17,[44][45][46][47][48][49], including those materials with natural (organic) origins [50][51][52][53] and waste origins [54]. Overall, each group of topics concerning 3D printing in an ecological context has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable manufacturing industry by reducing material and energy use and carbon emissions [6,[55][56][57]; conserving resources [7,58,...…”

“…Many other scientists and researchers, such as Hod Lipson, Neil Gershenfeld, Terry Wohlers, Elaine Cohen, and Jean-Claude André, have also made significant contributions, advancing various aspects of 3D printing through their work on specific mathematical modelling techniques. Some current applications involve characterizing the shear thinning behavior of inks by quantifying the degree of shear thinning and using mathematical models to predict the window of printer operating parameters within which Overall, each group of topics concerning 3D printing in an ecological context has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable manufacturing industry by reducing material and energy use and carbon emissions [6,[55][56][57]; conserving resources [7,58,59], repairing and upcycling [56,[60][61][62] and reducing waste generation [63][64][65][66]; facilitating the selection of eco-friendly materials [67][68][69][70][71]; and enabling decentralized and customized production processes [72][73][74], thus contributing to holistic assessments of environmental impacts. In the group of publications related to modelling, there is a significant emphasis on understanding printing conditions and the properties of various printed materials.…”

Surface Durability of 3D-Printed Polymer Gears

“…The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established the technical committee ISO/TC 261 for additive manufacturing (AM), whose role is to develop common standards that can be applied globally [24]. These regulations are to establish a general technical basis, and the basis is the research in the field carried out worldwide, which, at this moment, is in an early phase [25].…”