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This paper aims to fulfil a need to identify assembly interfaces from existing products based on their Assembly Process Planning (APP). It proposes a tool to identify assembly interfaces responsible for reused components integration. It is integrated into a design for mixed model final assembly line approach by focusing on the identification of assembly interfaces as a generic tool. It aims to answer the problem of interfaces’ identification from the APP.

A tool is developed to identify assembly interfaces responsible for reused component integration. It is based on the use of a rule-based algorithm that analyses an APP and then submits the results to prohibition lists to check their relevance. The tool is then tested using a case study. Finally, the resulting list is subjected to a visual validation step to validate whether the identified interface is a real interface.

The results of this study are a tool named ICARRE which identify assembly interfaces using three steps. The tool has been validated by a case study from the helicopter industry.

As some interfaces are not contained in the same assembly operations and therefore, may not have been identified by the rule-based algorithm. More research should be done by testing and improving the algorithm with other case studies.

The paper includes implications for new product development teams to address the difficulties of integrating reused components into different products.

This paper presents a tool for identifying interfaces when sources of knowledge do not allow the use of current methods.

This paper aims to study the influence of bed temperature on the properties of printed parts and their structural stability.

Material extrusion is a manufacturing technique in which a part is completed layer by layer with molten filament. The first layer is deposited on a build platform called bed, which is usually at a controlled temperature above room temperature. The density, coefficient of thermal expansion and Young’s modulus were determined as a function of the bed temperature. The complex permittivity was determined at different temperatures, with the aim of analyzing the influence of the bed temperature and isothermal treatments on the characteristics of the amorphous phase.

The Young’s modulus presented a non-monotonic behavior, while the coefficient of thermal expansion did not present a clear dependence on the bed temperature. However, a contraction of the dimensions of the parts was observed after heating at temperatures above the glass transition. With treatments at temperatures lower than the glass transition temperature, no changes were observed. However, with treatments at temperatures higher than this, changes in the mobile amorphous region were inferred.

Issues related to the use of parts manufactured by 3D printing after a posterior heating were analyzed: an improvement in the Young’s modulus and a slight variation of the coefficient of thermal expansion were observed. However, a significant variation in dimensions was detected, mainly for the lowest bed temperatures. This is important for possible applications at temperatures above 60°C.