Controlling Morphology and Functions of Cardiac Organoids by Two-Dimensional Geometrical Templates

Traditionally, tissue-specific organoids are generated as 3D aggregates of stem cells embedded in Matrigel or hydrogels, and the aggregates eventually end up a spherical shape and suspended in the matrix. Lack of geometrical control of organoid formation makes these spherical organoids limited for modeling the tissues with complex shapes. To address this challenge, we developed a new method to generate 3D spatial-organized cardiac organoids from 2D micropatterned hiPSC colonies, instead of directly from 3D stem cell aggregates. This new approach opens the possibility to create cardiac organoids that are templated by 2D non-spherical geometries, which potentially provides us a deeper understanding of biophysical controls on developmental organogenesis. Here, we designed 2D geometrical templates with quadrilateral shapes and pentagram shapes that had same total area but different geometrical shapes. Using this templated substrate, we grew cardiac organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and collected a series of parameters to characterize morphological and functional properties of the cardiac organoids. In quadrilateral templates, we found that increasing the aspect ratio impaired cardiac tissue 3D self-assembly, but the elongated geometry improved the cardiac contractile functions. However, in pentagram templates, cardiac organoid structure and function were optimized with a specific geometry of an ideal star shape. This study will shed a light on “organogenesis-by-design” by increasing the intricacy of starting templates from external geometrical cues to improve the organoid morphogenesis and functionality.

Additive Manufacturing in Off-Site Construction: Review and Future Directions

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the pillars of Industry 4.0 to attain a circular economy. The process involves a layer-by-layer deposition of material from a computer-aided-design (CAD) model to form complex shapes. Fast prototyping and waste minimization are the main benefits of employing such a technique. AM technology is presently revolutionizing various industries such as electronics, biomedical, defense, and aerospace. Such technology can be complemented with standardized frameworks to attract industrial acceptance, such as in the construction industry. Off-site construction has the potential to improve construction efficiency by adopting AM. In this paper, the types of additive manufacturing processes were reviewed, with emphasis on applications in off-site construction. This information was complemented with a discussion on the types and mechanical properties of materials that can be produced using AM techniques, particularly metallic components. Strategies to assess cost and material considerations such as Production line Breakdown Structure (PBS) and Value Stream Mapping are highlighted. In addition, a comprehensive approach that evaluates the entire life cycle of the component was suggested when comparing AM techniques and conventional manufacturing options.

INFLUENCE OF WIRE-EDM PARAMETERS ON SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERALLOY MONEL 400

Progressive development in the industrial field leads to the increasing demand for superalloys with enhanced mechanical properties, such as toughness, hardness, ductility, damping strength, tensile strength and improved surface finish. Monel 400, one of such superalloys, with the majority of its application in aerospace and marine fields demands a good super finish. There arises the need for some nonconventional processes like WEDM. This process is more effective to obtain complex shapes to close tolerance. This research focuses on clear understanding of the machining strategies with proper parametric combinations to achieve an improved surface finish, subsequently reducing the time and expense involved in the superfinishing procedure. The surface qualities of the selected samples are validated with the help of roughness profile and topography images. This study has proven that the increasing input current and wire feed rate (WFR) consistently decreases the surface roughness (SR; [Formula: see text] of the specimen. This paper also explains the effect of topographic parameters and microstructure over the resulting SR. In addition, the consistent contribution of WFR and input current toward the lower SR is established. The relationship between morphological behavior and parametric deviations is evaluated. A significant correlation found to exist between the rate of wire feed and the height parameters of SR such as [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], etc.

A Critical Review on Optimization of WEDM Process Using Taguchi Array

Wire electrical release machining (WEDM) innovation has developed at special case rate since it was first applied over long term prior.WEDM is a widely recognized unconventional material cutting process used to manufacture components with complex shapes and profiles of hard materials. In this thermal erosion process, there is no physical contact between the wire tool and work materials. Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is getting more tasks in fields like dies, punches, aero and many more. It is the very difficult task to get optimum process parameters for higher cutting efficiency. In WEDM process rough machining gives lesser accuracy and finish machining gives fine surface finish, but it reduces the machining speed. This review involves process, principle, literature and applications of WEDM using Taguchi array. Keywords: WEDM; Materials; Machine; Cutting efficiency; Optimization process.

Multiple-Performance Optimization of Wire EDM Parameters for HDS H13 BY Using Taguchi Method

Wire electrical discharge machining is extensively used in machining of conductive materials. The WEDM process has the ability to machine complex shapes and hard electrically conductive metal components precisely. The main goal of wire electrical discharge machine manufacturers and users are to achieve a better stability and high productivity of the process with desired accuracy and minimum surface damage.The main objectives of the present research are to experimentally study the effect of various process parameters like pulse on time, pulse off time, wire feed, and wire tension on the performance measures like material removal rate, surface roughness and wire wear ratio. WEDM is a widely recognized unconventional material cutting process used to manufacture components with complex shapes and profiles of hard materials. In this paper we are presenting the development of WEDEM process using various pre define parameters using Taguchi method. Index Terms: WEDM, doe, orthogonal array, parameters, Taguchi method, H13, HDS, mean of means, SF, MRR, Ra, etc.

STUDY OF THE THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENT OF SEVERAL SAND MIXTURES USED IN THE CASTING TECHNOLOGY: دراسة معامل التمدد الحراري لعدة خلائط من الرمال المستخدمة في تقنية الصب

The casting technology is one of the most important production processes, because of its special characteristics and features such as the ability to produce complex shapes and a wide range of compositions. This work aims to study several mixtures of sand with different structures in terms of permeability, strength, thermal expansion coefficient, comparing them, study the effect of the elements involved in the composition of these mixtures on those parameters, and create a database that can be used both in modeling processes or mold design, as when designing the sand mold The value of the sand expansion of the mold must be taken into account, otherwise the designer will face the problem of the possibility of exit some dimensions of the final product from the permissible range and thus rejecting the product, Or the product is undergone to deformations resulting from the expansion of mold sands, which must be avoided when designing the mold Knowing the characteristics of those sand mixtures helps the investor in choosing the most appropriate mixture for the required casting process in terms of engineering specifications or quantity, with the aim of less costly production by saving in choosing the most appropriate and least expensive sand mixture that serves the desired purpose.

Image Segmentation by Pairwise Nearest Neighbor Using Mumford-Shah Model

Mumford-Shah model has been used for image segmentation by considering both homogeneity and the shape of the segments jointly. It has been previously optimized by complex mathematical optimization methods like Douglas-Rachford, and a faster but sub-optimal k-means. However, they both suffer from fragmentation caused by non-convex segments. In this paper, we present hierarchical algorithm called Pairwise nearest neighbor (PNN) to optimize the Mumford-Shah model. The merge-based strategy utilizing the connectivity of the pixels prevents isolated fragments to be formed, and in this way, reaches better quality in case of images containing complex shapes.

A Study on the Mechanical Properties of an Automobile Part Additively Printed through Periodic Layer Rotation Strategies

In metal product manufacturing, additive manufacturing (AM) is a method that has the advantage of fabricating complex shapes and customized production, unlike existing machining methods. However, owing to the characteristics of the AM process, anisotropy of macrostructure occurs because of various causes such as the scan direction, melting, fusion, and cooling of the powdered material. The macrostructure anisotropy is realized from the scan direction, and when a single layer is stacked in one direction, it is expressed as orthogonal anisotropy. Here, the classical lamination theory is applied to simply calculate the individual orthotropic layers by superimposing them. Through this, the authors analyzed whether the mechanical properties of the product are isotropically expressed with a periodic layer rotation strategy. To determine if the mechanical properties can be reasonably considered to be isotropic, a shock absorber mount for a vehicle was manufactured by AM. The tensile and vibration test performed on the product was compared with the finite element analysis and experimental results. As a result of the comparison, it was confirmed that the macroscopically of the product was considered isotropic as the load-displacement diagram and the fracture location coincided, as well as the natural frequency and mode shape.

Thermoplastic Mandrel for Manufacturing Composite Components with Complex Structure

This study was to solve the mandrel demolding problem after curing the composite component with complex structure. In this paper, a reusable thermoplastic mandrel with heating softening characteristics was developed by resin transfer molding (RTM). The glass transition temperature (Tg), surface roughness, and reusability of the mandrel, as well as the shape, surface roughness, thickness uniformity, and internal quality of the formed structure, were tested. The result showed that the Tg of the mandrel was between 80 and 90 °C and the surface roughness was less than Ra 0.5 μm. Additionally, the mandrel can be recycled and can still maintain a good shape after 20 times of deformation. By using this method, the demolding process can be realized by heating and softening the mandrel. The profile error of the formed structure was within 0.5 mm, the surface roughness was less than Ra 0.5 μm, the thickness error was within 0.2 mm, and the average porosity of the upper and lower halves of composite parts was 0.72% and 0.61%. All those data showed that the formed part was in good shape and of good quality. The thermoplastic mandrel can solve the demolding problem of composite materials with complex shapes.