Additive manufacturing—a revolution in progress? Insights from a multiple case study

Additive manufacturing and supply chains – a systematic review

“…Additionally, AM machine producers might control the metal powders that can be processed on their respective machines, which can reduce the available material range, thus reducing competition and keeping costs high (Mellor, Hao, and Zhang 2014). Third party AM raw materials suppliers might represent an inexpensive alternative, but testing and the eventual adjustment of printing parameters remain a challenge (Simons 2018;Zanoni et al 2019). Additionally, the high costs of quality AM machines is also a challenge (Scott and Harrison 2015; Woodson, Alcantara, and do Nascimento 2019).…”

“…To that end, the efficient utilisation of the build chamber capacity is also important (Baumers et al 2013) which provides one reason why the production of larger parts is usually relatively more expensive (Wagner and Walton 2016). Finally, cleaning parts from excess powder, support structure removal, and other finishing tasks still have to be performed manually which increases the AM production cost as well (Simons 2018).…”

“…Various articles mention that geometric complexity is no longer an obstacle in the AM process which allows new design approaches (Cohen 2014;Ford and Despeisse 2016;Gress and Kalafsky 2015;Grzesiak, Becker, and Verl 2011;Mothes 2015;Neugebauer et al 2011;Rehnberg and Ponte 2018;Simons 2018;Sirichakwal and Conner 2016;Steenhuis and Pretorius 2015;Chan et al 2018;Chowdhury et al 2019;Colosimo et al 2018). This includes complex internal structures (Deschamps et al 2017;Neugebauer et al 2011;Petrovic et al 2011;Zeltmann et al 2016;Zanoni et al 2019).…”

Topology optimization for multi-axis machining

“…selective laser melting. However, in spite of the rapid developments in additive manufacturing, there is still a significant cost gap compared to machining [5]. Multi-axis machining may form an interesting option between these alternatives, depending on part size, series, material and available cutting speeds, and part geometry.…”

Lead-Time Effect Comparison of Additive Manufacturing with Conventional Alternatives

“…Although still immature in many application areas [1], additive manufacturing (AM), of steel products has developed from lab and pilot scale into being a full-scale production alternative for especially small series special part production [2,3].…”