• Energy Research

The research trend in additive manufacturing (AM) has evolved over the past 30 years, from patents, advances in the design, and layer-by-layer materials, to technologies. However, this evolution is faced with some barriers, such as the implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) in operations, its productivity limitations, and economic and social sustainability. These barriers need to be overcome in order to realize the full potential of AM. The objective of this study is to analyze the bibliometric data on these barriers through a systematic review in two study areas: business model innovation and sustainability in AM from Industry 4.0 perspective. Using the most common keywords in these two study areas, we performed a search on the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases and filtered the results using some inclusion and exclusion criteria. A bibliometric analysis was performed for authorship productivity, journals, the most common keywords, and the identified research clusters in the study areas. For the bibliometric analysis, the BIBEXCEL software was used to extract the relevant information, and Bibliometrix was used to determine the research trend over the past few years. Finally, a literature review was performed to identify future trends in the study areas. The analysis showed evidence of the relationship between the study areas from a bibliometric perspective and areas related to AM as an enabler for Industry 4.0.

This work investigates Industry 4.0 technologies by developing a new key performance indicator that can determine the energy consumption of machine tools for a more sustainable supply chain. To achieve this, we integrated the machine tool indicator into a cyber–physical system for easy and real-time capturing of data. We also developed software that can turn these data into relevant information (using Python): Using this software, we were able to view machine tool activities and energy consumption in real time, which allowed us to determine the activities with greater energy burdens. As such, we were able to improve the application of Industry 4.0 in machine tools by allowing informed real-time decisions that can reduce energy consumption. In this research, a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) was been developed and calculated in real time. This KPI can be monitored, can measure the sustainability of machining processes in a green supply chain (GSC) using Nakajima’s six big losses from the perspective of energy consumption, and is able to detect what the biggest energy loss is. This research was implemented in a cyber–physical system typical of Industry 4.0 to demonstrate its applicability in real processes. Other productivity KPIs were implemented in order to compare efficiency and sustainability, highlighting the importance of paying attention to both terms at the same time, given that the improvement of one does not imply the improvement of the other, as our results show.