Smart components by additive technologies

Smart components are key technologies for industry 4.0 as well as the Internet of Things. The application areas include e.g. systems for sustainable production, automotive, smart agriculture, and smart home. In order to integrate intelligence within a component, a sensor or actuator system typically needs to be embedded within the component itself during fabrication. Additive manufacturing has been extended to more and more industries and is now being used not only in toolmaking, but also in the series production of components. Geometric functionalization for conformal cooling is already state of the art in tool making. Despite the great potential of function-integrated parts, publications on sensor integration into parts fabricated by additive manufacturing are still rarely found. First approaches address multimaterial printing by using insulating and conductive materials as well as the integration of smart elements during the printing process. Laser beam melting (LBM) is an additive manufacturing technology for geometrically complex parts based on the layer wise and selective melting of metal powders. As proof-of-concept of the developed integration concept, based on LBM, the functionalization of tools and medical implants will be presented.