Investigation into Layered Manufacturing Technologies for Industrial Applications
Additive processes, which generate parts in a layered way, have more than 20 years of history can be defined as layered manufacturing. Layered manufacturing is gaining ground for rapid prototypes (RP), rapid tools (RT) and rapid manufacturing (RM) for production of functional parts. The paper describes which mechanism of layered manufacturing and definition and classification of rapid prototypes can be applied to complex geometries for long-term consistency. The paper demonstrates the application examples of layered manufacturing fulfilling the required physical, mechanical and geometrical properties. The most notable advantage is the integration of production planning and testing within the product development period.
Incremental solidification (toward 3D-printing) of magnetically-confined metal-powder by localized microwave heating

Purpose
This paper aims to present an experimental and theoretical study oriented to investigate the potential use of localized microwave-heating (LMH) in 3D-printing and additive-manufacturing (AM) processes.


Design/methodology/approach
Following a previous study by the authors, a magnetic confinement technique is developed here as a non-contact support for the incremental solidification by LMH of small metal-powder batches. This approach, which saves the need for a mechanic support in contact with the powder-batch during the microwave heating, may significantly simplify the LMH–AM process.


Findings
The powder properties are characterized, and a theoretical LMH model is used to simulate the LMH mechanism dominated here by magnetic eddy currents.


Originality/value
The experimental products are analyzed, and their hardness, porosity and oxidation are evaluated. Practical considerations and further improvements of the non-contact LMH–AM process are discussed.

Remote estimation of nitrogen and chlorophyll contents in maize at leaf and canopy levels
a b s t r a c t Leaf and canopy nitrogen (N) status relates strongly to leaf and canopy chlorophyll (Chl) content. Remote sensing is a tool that has the potential to assess N content at leaf, plant, field, regional and global scales. In this study, remote sensing techniques were applied to estimate N and Chl contents of irrigated maize (Zea mays L.) fertilized at five N rates. Leaf N and Chl contents were determined using the red-edge chlorophyll index with R2 of 0.74 and 0.94, respectively. Results showed that at the canopy level, Chl and N contents can be accurately retrieved using green and red-edge Chl indices using near infrared (780-800 nm) and either green (540-560 nm) or red-edge (730-750 nm) spectral bands. Spectral bands that were found optimal for Chl and N estimations coincide well with the red-edge band of the MSI sensor onboard the near future Sentinel-2 satellite. The coefficient of determination for the relationships between the red-edge chlorophyll index, simulated in Sentinel-2 bands, and Chl and N content was 0.90 and 0.87, respectively.