IoT-driven circular solutions for 3D printed composite fibre production: advancing SDG 9

This article discusses how the integration of 3D printing and composite fibre manufacturing with the Internet of Things (IoT) and circular economy can create a revolution in sustainable production processes, exploring the possibilities and challenges that such a convergence brings. IoT integrates a network of connected devices and sensors to provide real-time data monitoring and predictive analytics, tackling pressing inefficiencies in conventional manufacturing. The integration of IoT and circular economy functions in additive manufacturing processes enables meticulous managing of resource utilisation, material optimisation, and energy efficiency, ultimately minimising the environmental impact. When derived from renewable or recycled materials, composite fibre materials with superior mechanical, thermal, and chemical characteristics also reflect sustainability ideals. The review consolidates recent IoT-enabled manufacturing progresses, emphasising innovations related to real-time monitoring, defect detection, and predictive maintenance integrated with composite 3D printing and circular economy. It also addresses challenges like interoperability, cyber security risks, and scalability and suggests techniques like modular IoT architectures and artificial intelligence analytics as answers. Furthermore, this paper emphasises innovative approaches to enhancing eco-friendly production systems, focusing on sustainable materials and energy-efficient IoT-based monitoring and circular economy. The future research directions highlighted above encourage researchers to establish more standardised approaches towards IoT-dependent frameworks and investigate bio-based composite materials.