Five series of specimens with two different print orientations (−45/45 and 0/90) and two print layer thicknesses (0.1 and 0.2 mm) were made. In total 60 specimens with 100% filament infill were made. One specimen series (20 pieces) was isolated as a reference or thermally untreated. Before the thermal treatment (annealing), two specimen moulding methods were used: NaCl powder (granulation 63 mm: 20 pieces) and Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum: 20 pieces). During the annealing, specimens immersed in NaCl powder were heated in a drying oven to the filament melting point (for PLA: 200°C, with a duration interval of 30 min), while the treatment of the heated specimens in gypsum was performed at a temperature of around 190°C, with duration interval of 3 h with the observed temperature inside the mould of about 100°C. An ultrasonic bath and a drying oven were used in the gypsum treatment. Temperature measurement and control during both annealing treatments were performed using a thermal imaging camera, while the temperature control inside the drying oven was performed using a digital thermometer. After treatment, the specimens in the moulds were cooled at room temperature, and the dimensions of annealing and untreated specimens were controlled. Surface morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM analysis reveals improved internal structure after heat treatment of the PLA specimens. These results show that the investigated specimens after heat treatments had better structural properties than the referent specimens. Tensile testing on a universal testing machine in compliance with the ASTM D638 standard was also performed. The referent PLA specimen with −45/45 and layer thickness of 0.1 mm had the highest tensile stress value (64.08 MPa) while the specimen with minimal tensile stress value before fracture was 0/90, 0.2 mm (54.81 MPa). Heat treatment in gypsum showed the most significant increase in strength with −45/45 (0.1 mm) being the strongest (71.66 MPa) while the strongest specimen treated in sodium chloride was −45/45 (0.1 mm) with maximum tensile stress of 70.08 MPa. The mechanical characteristics of the PLA were characterised using the Vickers microhardness tester. The PLA microhardness value was calculated according to standards ASTM E384 and ISO 6507. The referent PLA specimen with −45/45 (0.2 mm) orientation shows the maximal microhardness value (125 MPa), and the minimal microhardness value was observed for the 0/90 (0.1 mm) orientation specimens (108 MPa). The heat treatment specimens in gypsum have a better hardness (185 MPa) than those treated in gypsum (165 MPa), with microhardness increasing by about 12%. The essence of the work is reflected in the additional filament processing to achieve a better structural and mechanical performance of the materials and reduce the anisotropy that is characteristic of 3D printing.

Material selection is the main challenge in the drone industry. In this study, hardness, abrasive wear, impact resistance, tensile strength, and durability (frost resistance and accelerated ageing) were identified as important characteristics of drone materials. The additive manufacturing technology was used to produce the drone leg specimens and prototype. The suitability of PETG as a primary filament material in the design of the drone leg was investigated. Nine series were printed with different raster lines (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mm) and infill densities (30, 60 and 90%). Printed specimens were annealed in salt and alabaster, as well as immersed in liquid nitrogen. Series with raster line-infill densities of 0.1–30, 0.3–30, 0.1–90 and 0.3–90 were identified as the most interesting ones. Thermally treated specimens had better mechanical and durability properties, and infill density was found to be the most important printing parameter. Specimen annealed in salt with a raster line of 0.1 mm and infill density of 90% had the best results. Since ABS is the most common material used for drone leg production, its properties were compared with the PETG specimen, which showed the best properties. The potential of PETG as an alternative material was proven, while the flexibility, productivity and suitability of the leg drone design were additionally confirmed.

Three different and very small amounts of alumina (0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 wt. %) in two sizes (approx. 25 and 100 nm) were used to enhance the wear characteristics of ZA-27 alloy-based nanocomposites. Production was realised through mechanical alloying in pre-processing and compocasting processes. Wear tests were under lubricated sliding conditions on a block-on-disc tribometer, at two sliding speeds (0.25 and 1 m/s), two normal loads (40 and 100 N) and a sliding distance of 1000 m. Experimental results were analysed by applying the response surface methodology (RSM) and a suitable mathematical model for the wear rate of tested nanocomposites was developed. Appropriate wear maps were constructed and the wear mechanism is discussed in this paper. The accuracy of the prediction was evaluated with the use of an artificial neural network (ANN). The architecture of the used ANN was 4-5-1 and the obtained overall regression coefficient was 0.98729. The comparison of the predicting methods showed that ANN is more efficient in predicting wear.

Youth entrepreneurship is important for reducing youth unemployment rates and it overall contributes to economic growth. The main idea of this research is to determine the barriers and challenges that young entrepreneurs face in Serbia. The paper analyzes literature in this domain, and compares the status of youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship overall between Serbia, the EU and the US. Furthermore, a theoretical model is developed that includes the application of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and lean startup approach. The results indicate that taxation regulation and the lack of financial support for new startups are the main barriers that the young face in Serbia. In addition, the lack of adequate entrepreneurial education creates difficulties, and demotivates potential entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce or modify existing regulatory laws and introduce effective financial support for new enterprises.

In contemporary business, issues such as environmental protection, taking care of employees and their job satisfaction, ethical principles, supporting endangered groups, caring about young people, caring about the society and the like, are serious challenges that a company has to deal with, no matter which industry it belongs to. One of the most important principles of contemporary business is an organisation based on responsibility. An organisation has to take full responsibility for its actions in the environment in which it operates. Contemporary business puts responsibility on the level of each individual as well. Global market leaders have accepted the application of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a view to satisfying customers' and other stakeholders' demands. What is seen as a prerequisite for a successful realisation of CSR concepts in a company is a genuine wish for its application by the management, management's readiness to understand the basic postulates of this concept, good communication (both internal and external), promotion of examples of good practice in the company and outside of it, motivating employees for a more active role in realising good business practices. In this paper, the authors have presented the results of a survey about young people's attitudes towards corporate social responsibility.