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Additive manufacturing technology permits to develop a product with high level of geometrical complex shape and produce it as unique product by implying low cost and quick time production compared with other manufacturing processes. It has proved a faster method across various industrial disciplines to build functional parts from computer-aided design model. Freedom for design in product development is a new reality with additive manufacturing. In this article, a review of additive product development is done in various industries including food, sports, and biomedical. Furthermore, different additive manufacturing techniques which are used in innovative product development are explained with case studies and examples. Also, a conceptual framework has been represented to use additive manufacturing as collaborative tool with theory of inventive problem solving technique in the innovative product development.

Purpose This paper aims to provide an overview of applications of medical rapid prototyping (MRP)-assisted customized surgical guides (CSGs) and shows the potential of this technology in complex surgeries. This review paper also reports two case studies from open literature where MRP-assisted CSGs have been successfully used in complex surgeries. Design/methodology/approach Key publications from the past two decades have been reviewed. Findings This study concludes that the use of MRP-assisted CSGs improves the accuracy of surgery. Additionally, MRP-assisted CSGs make the surgery much faster, accurate and cheaper than any other technique. The outcome based on literature review and two case studies strongly suggested that MRP-assisted CSGs might become part of a standard protocol in the medical sector to operate the various complex surgeries, in the near future. Practical implications Advanced technologies like radiology, image processing, virtual surgical planning (VSP), computer-aided design (CAD) and MRP made it possible to fabricate the CSGs. MRP-assisted CSGs can easily transfer the VSP into the actual surgery. Originality/value This paper is beneficial to study the development and applications of MRP-assisted CSGs in complex surgeries.