Additive manufacturing virtual reality lab for training industry employees and engineering students

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Obeidi, Muhannad Ahmed and Karazi, Shadi and Ul Ahad, Inam and Kinahan, David and Culliton, David and Brabazon, Dermot; (2022) Additive manufacturing virtual reality lab for training industry employees and engineering students. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium for Engineering Education. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. ISBN 9781914241208 (https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00082020)

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Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming popular in multiple applications like gaming, driving, aviation and medical training, fashion and tourism. This study is focused on the promising and encouraging role of Virtual Reality (VR) in engineering programmes. Robust development and innovations have been accelerated in several manufacturing technologies, especially in laser processing, additive manufacturing, and printed electronics. These developments demonstrate the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in creating fully automated and smart manufacturing of products controlled and monitored by computers and robotics. To understand and develop such systems, engineering students need to be trained and prepared for the next generation of computerised machinery, which might not be available in every educational enterprise. Due to its unique ability to produce parts with complex geometry, additive manufacturing (AM) is suitable for manufacturing customised individual products in the biomedical and Aerospace industries. Flexible designs can be adopted, and reduced mass and materials savings can be achieved in addition to processing materials difficult to machines, such as titanium, nitinol and magnesium alloys. Nevertheless, AM is not a standard manufacturing technology in the training of engineering students due to the high initial cost, high running skills and access difficulty due to health and safety regulations. This study reports the employment of a VR lab, tackling this problem and providing the students with a VR-based AM lab in which they can experience the entire build process and carry out assignments efficiently and, most importantly, safely.

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https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00082020
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