Biomaterials and Digital Manufacturing Technologies

Abstract

The first three industrial revolutions had the characteristic that they developed at times in history where natural resources were considered to be unlimited and that mass production would not have consequences on the environment and people. However, in recent years the serious impact that human activity has had on the environment has been demonstrated. This is why the foundations have been laid for the fourth industrial revolution, where a productive, social and economic model is proposed that changes the current system in an innovative, efficient and sustainable way.
The authors José Luis del Val (2016); Klaus Schwab (2016); Joao Saint-Aubyn (2016), among others, characterize the fourth industrial revolution or industry 4.0 as a new paradigm that aims to make a qualitative leap through the evolution and connection of tools and resources in search of forming the so-called 'Smart factories' . This model aims to give competitiveness to the industry through custom production and design. It seeks to link digital, physical and biological systems to optimize
human and environmental well-being. It aims to direct production towards a circular economy, where the main objectives are to satisfy the needs of users and generate a paradigm shift in production, reducing waste and using renewable energy. It also accompanies the new circular economy model, which is interrelated with sustainability, whose main objective is to keep products, materials and resources in circulation for as long as possible, reducing waste production. It is about implementing a circular, non-linear system, based on the principle of closing the life cycle of products. Within this revolution, design plays a fundamental role in achieving the expected end. It is necessary to develop a designed system that allows the insertion of this revolution into the current environment, facilitating understanding and results. Biofabrication is incorporated into this circular scenario, which involves the application of biotechnology to cultivate and grow objects in the place of manufacture. This way of producing creates a paradigm shift, since bioproduction responds to the Circular Economy, where garbage does not exist and waste is recycled and transformed and, being biodegradable, returns to its origin.
It is in this new conception of manufacturing through the cultivation of materials where we position ourselves in research with the aim of finding solutions through design, biofabrication and the use of digital manufacturing technologies. For this, a work plan and use of methodologies are proposed to reach results through practical validation that will allow the introduction of an innovation to the current production system. It is proposed to generate designs that are introduced to the
current system, replace plastic materials such as expanded polystyrene (tergopol) and collaborate with the environment under a circular economy model, that is, taking advantage of raw material that is currently waste (for example scrap from the cereal industry) and convert it into a useful material. In turn, this research can lay the foundation for future developments.