Additive Manufacturing of Sustainable Mechatronic Systems

This presentation will review the current status of the Additive Manufacture (AM) of sustainable mechatronic systems. The use of AM processes, offers significant sustainability advantages in the production of electronic and mechatronic systems by way of simplifying the materials mix, improved materials efficiency and heavily compressed process chains, localising manufacture. The fundamental technology combining free-form, 5 axis 3D printing of mechanical and electronic components, Surface Mount Device (SMD) placement and pre- and post-processing techniques, is described. The State-of-the-Art of the manufacturing process chain is demonstrated by way of a proof-of-concept of a lighting product