Abstract
Aim Since its inception, additive manufacturing (AM) has promised to offer a more sustainable approach to manufacturing – as it uses only the amount of material needed to build the final part, and thus employs less resources compared to conventional manufacturing methods. Furthermore, design freedom enabled by AM allows optimised geometries and lightweight (lattice) structures to be realised; especially useful in transport applications, leading to more fuel-efficient operations and reduced carbon footprint. However, for anyone familiar with the reality of the AM supply-chains are aware, these advantages are often negated by the high production cost, both financial and environmental, primarily related to the feedstock and associated energy consumption of operations (e.g. AM build, heat-treatments, part finishing, etc.). Making these costs visible and offering a route to minimise them through improved manufacturing scheduling is basis of the innovation in Forecast3AM. Objectives The project’s main objective is to create a game-changing tool that can analyse energy markets (including carbon content of feedstocks), predict costs, and optimise manufacturing scheduling for AM based manufacturers to help reduce energy consumption and embedded carbon. As the world increasingly focuses on climate change and resource efficiency, addressing these challenges becomes crucial for businesses. Through collaborative efforts, the project partnership (composed of Authentise, Photocentric, Swibrace and FHNW) aims to develop, implement and validate a multi-factor scheduling prediction and data evaluation model for AM. This model will enable accurate energy predictions at different levels, from local to national, and provide a reliable scheduling approach to optimise energy consumption, reduce costs, and support planning and control processes. This will also include the ability to implement mass customisation of patient specific medical devices within a range of distributed manufacutring network approaches. Impact Forecast3AM is a collaborative project between leading organisations, facilitated by EUREKA SMART programme. The project aims to leverage the unique insights and capabilities of each partner to develop innovative solutions for AM that will have a significant impact on EU manufacturing and be scalable world-wide. Forecast3AM represents a significant step forward in the optimisation of AM processes and reducing costs, aligned with European policies focused on energy consumption reduction and improved manufacturing competitiveness. By combining the expertise of the partner organisations, the project has the potential to revolutionise the AM industry and pave the way for a more sustainable and efficient future.
Consortium

COORDINATOR

  Authentise Ltd

Simon McCaldin

PARTNERS

Authentise Ltd

Photocentric Ltd

Swibrace SA

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland