Solid-state recycling is a direct conversion method for producing metal chips, whereas the materials are plastically deformed into the final product without melting, offering lower energy consumption and metal waste. This technique was reported for fabricating aluminium-zirconium oxide (Al-ZrO₂) composite and it was widely used to avoid metal chips bounding at high temperatures during the extrusion process. Aluminium alloy (AA7075) is known for its high yield strength of more than 500 MPa under optimum ageing conditions. However, AA7075 can be further reinforced by zirconium oxide nanoparticles when needed for high-performance applications. Hot extrusion is used to obtain better mechanical properties of composite materials. The equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), a severe plastic deformation technique, was recently used to produce bulk and light recycled metal chips, such as porosity-free and ultra-fine-grained aluminium nanocomposites (ANCs). Heat treatments (HT) and ECAP post hot extrusion are mostly incorporated to improve tribological and mechanical properties and aluminium nanocomposite bonding efficiency. In this review, ANCs’ fabrication by the hot extrusion technique and the effects of ZrO₂ nanoparticle are duly summarised and discussed. Furthermore, this review emphasises the importance of using HT and ECAP techniques to acquire better metal alloy incorporation, such as AA7075-ZrO₂. Interestingly, owing to the lightweight properties and superior performance of AA7075-ZrO₂, it was reported to be suitable for fabricating many drones’ parts, military equipment, and some other promising applications.

Compared to the recycling process by remelting, hot extrusion significantly reduces the energy consumption and CO₂ emission and ensures good mechanical and microstructural properties. This study investigates the effects of reinforcing aluminium AA6061 chips with mixed boron carbide (B₄C) and zirconia (ZrO₂) particles by employing a design of experiment (DOE) under 550 °C processing temperature and three hours preheating time. The findings showed that compressive strength (CS) and hardness increased with up to 5% added particles, and beyond 5%, the yielded values decreased because of materials agglomeration. However, the decreasing density was dependent on the addition of ZrO₂ particles. The distribution of particles with different volume fractions of mixed particles was investigated by employing SEM, AFM, and EDS tests. Thus, the process can produce a net shape structure that utilises material-bonding consolidation to provide sufficient support to reuse the recovered materials in engineering applications, such as in the automotive industry.

In the era of Industry 4.0, the digital capture of products has become a critical aspect, which prompts the need for reliable inspection methods. In the current technological landscape, the Internet of Things (IoT) holds significant value, especially for industrial devices that require seamless communication with local and cloud computing servers. This research focuses on the advancements made in roundness measurement techniques for industrial automation by leveraging an IoT architecture, computer vision, and image processing. The interconnectedness enables the efficient collection of feedback information, meeting the demands of closed-loop manufacturing. The accuracy and performance of assemblies heavily rely on the roundness of specific workpiece components. In order to address this problem, automated inspection methods are needed. A new method of computer vision for measuring and inspecting roundness is proposed in this paper. This method uses a non-contact method that takes into account all points on the contours of measured objects, making it more accurate and practical than conventional methods. The system developed by AMMC Laboratory captures Delrin work images and analyzes them using a specially designed 3SMVI system based on Open CV with Python script language. The system can measure and inspect several rounded components in the same part, including external frames and internal holes. It is calibrated to accommodate various units of measurement and has been tested using sample holes within the surface feature of the workpiece. According to the results of both techniques, there is a noticeable difference ranging from 2.9 µm to 11.6 µm. However, the accuracy of the measurements can be enhanced by utilizing a high-resolution camera with proper lighting. The results were compared to those obtained using a computer measurement machine (CMM), with a maximum difference of 8.7%.

Medical components made of titanium, steels, ceramic, and aluminium produced by metal injection moulding require different machining processes and creating a custom mould for each patient will limit the mould’s flexibility. This research aimed at developing a Polylactic acid (PLA)/Stainless Steel (SS316L) composite filament for 3D printing and investigating the influence of the compounding ratio on the mechanical properties of PLA/SS 316L polymer composite printed by Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) machine. The effects of SS316L content and melting temperature on tensile strength and impact strength of printed samples were analysed at 2%, 7%, and 12% weight percentage (wt.%) and 200°C, 210°C, and 220°C respectively. The SS 316L powder was added to PLA by weight percentage (wt.%), and 0.4 mm diameter nozzle was utilized during printing. At a 12% addition of SS316L, the tensile strength (TS) and Charpy impact strength (IS) were maximised to 52.832 MPa and 0.1275 kJ/m² respectively. A decreasing trend was observed for both properties with 2% and 7% of SS 316L addition. Moreover, when the temperature was set to 220°C, the TS increased for all composites regardless of the weight percentage. The optimized parameter setting by RSM was 12 wt.% and 220°C revealed the TS and IS at 54.04 MPa and 0.172 kJ/m². The errors between the predicted and experimental values for TS and IS were 1.4% and 4.65%.