研究

麻省理工学院的研究人员提出了以国家支持的培训来提高3D印刷劳动力的技能

来自MIThave published a study that proposes the roll-out of U.S. government-backed training courses to address the skill-gaps in the 3D printing workforce.

The paper, which was published as part of MIT’s未来的工作项目,敦促引入激励员工UPSKILLING计划,以帮助中小企业采用AM技术。没有对培训进行大量投资,该团队警告说,3D打印将无法发挥其全部潜力或继续扩展到新应用程序。

“Despite its strong industrial potential, the implementation of AM remains constrained by the technology’s maturity and the skills of the corresponding workforce,” said the team in their research. “Upskilling programs can serve the dual purposes of advancing the industrial use of AM, while retaining experienced manufacturing workers.”

麻省理工学院团队的报告呼吁增加激励3D打印培训计划的数量。通过EOS照片。
The MIT team’s report has called for an increase in the number of incentivized 3D printing training schemes. Photo via EOS.

满足3D打印的潜力

The Work of the Future project was set up by MIT, and backed by谷歌JP Morgan在2018年,要利用最近的技术进步来取得社会利益。在该计划中,麻省理工学院的Haden Quinlan和John Hart的任务是调查AM劳动力如何应对行业的进步。

在他们的论文中,团队认识到3D打印已从对原型的关注转变为按需制作,但也确定了一项技能短缺,这正在放缓其进步。对于研究人员而言,AM达到了一个拐点,需要新的培训课程和资金,或者该技术的增长风险停滞不前。

The US government, which backs the橡树岭国家实验室America Makes,被选为对驾驶3D印刷的收养至关重要的。鉴于与传统制造业相比,大量AM仍然有价值,因此该团队声称需要额外的资金以使添加剂能够竞争。

MIT二人组发现了3D打印区域(IP)保护和材料兼容性等3D打印区域也可能会破坏行业的增长。该指南旨在促进该技术持续扩展到新行业。

3D printed components for one of Oak Ridge's prototype reactors. Photo via Britanny Cramer/ORNL/US Dept. of Energy.
The government-backed ORNL is currently developing a 3D printed nuclear reactor core. Photo via Britanny Cramer/ORNL/US Dept. of Energy.

Re-skilling the additive workforce

尽管基于美国的培训课程数量增加,但研究人员仍然认为它们不足以解决合格的专业人员的短缺。来自Bureau of Labor Statistics支持该团队的分析,表明自2012年以来,制造业员工降低了所需的员工15%。

To tackle 3D printing’s wider skill shortage, the MIT pair have called on the government to play a greater role in the sharing of research and facilitating fellowship programs. Upskilling existing workers is also central to the team’s proposals, and they suggest that incentivized training contracts could drive AM’s adoption by SMEs.

总体而言,团队确定的技能差距与EU-backed SAM survey,这敦促快速引入飞行员计划。尽管麻省理工学院二人组选择不强调缺乏特定的技能,但SAM集团得出结论,能够使材料合格也变得越来越重要。

但是,在培训方面,两组研究人员都同意迫切需要其他课程,以便更好地满足行业人员的需求。

乐高的最高法院法官。照片由Maia Weinstock
IP protection has become a hot topic of debate within 3D printing, and companies such as LEGO have had CAD files of their products de-listed. Photo by Maia Weinstock

IP侵权是增长的障碍吗?

The researchers also found that as 3D scanners have become more readily available, the barrier for entry to counterfeiting has been lowered. For instance, citing figures from丰田澳大利亚这对麻省理工学院对发现,2018年在网上以“真实”出售的丰田零件中有三分之一以上是伪造的。

这些假货没有与真正的文章进行相同的安全测试水平,因此它们可能会对其原始设计师的品牌损害。为了应对这一潜在威胁,研究人员强调了对新的数据管理标准的需求,该标准为公司提供了更好的加密安全性。

更重要的是,该团队还呼吁结束消费者和制造商权利之间存在的“灰色区域”。随着业余爱好者用户的能力继续增长,两人提出立法变更,以在IP保护和客户的维修权之间引起明显的界限。

3D printing’s ongoing IP debate

一段时间以来,3D打印中的IP保护问题一直是一个热门话题,行业中的一些数字要求进一步监管。尽管如此,对几个机构的分析发现,当前的立法足以保护公司及其知识产权。

英国Intellectual Property Office’s(IPO’s)3DPIP期货项目concluded that although some clarification was required, there’s no pressing need forlegal reform. Similarly, following a欧洲委员会有关IP的报告,法律公司的托马斯·普罗克Marks&Clerksaid that as it stands, existing legislation may be sufficient.

Jason Teng of the IP law firm波特·克拉克森同时,已经说过the current IP framework is “ill-equipped”应对3D打印面临的挑战。Teng建议引入一种新的许可机制来控制加性制成品的流动。

The researchers’ findings are detailed in their paper titled “增材制造:对技术变革,劳动力发展和产品的影响Lifecycle,”由Haden Quinlan和A. John Hart合着。

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特色图片显示,有人在3D建模上教了某人。通过EOS照片。