An IoT ecosystem for data management of laser-based powder bed fusion of polymers

Laser-based powder bed fusion of polymers (PBF-LB/P) represents a cutting-edge manufacturing technique with vast potential for numerous industries. However, during the PBF-LB/P production pipeline, a vast amount of heterogeneous data is generated. The challenges of collecting and linking this data hinder the optimization of production processes and quality control measures. To this end, this chapter presents an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem platform that collects, stores, links, and analyzes the heterogeneous data generated throughout the PBF-LB/P production pipeline. By employing a microservices architecture, the system ensures flexibility and scalability, accommodating different communication protocols and facilitating the integration of new functionalities in a plug-and-play fashion. The proposed platform extends beyond the production process to gather data from the broader industrial environment where PBF-LB/P occurs. This capability enhances the contextual understanding of production data and enables proactive decision-making to optimize process efficiency and resource utilization.