Make or buy analysis for rapid manufacturing

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to outline how rapid manufacturing (RM) could influence the decision-making process for managers involved in make or buy decisions. Design/methodology/approach -A literature review on make or buy issues has been carried out and the results of which have been distilled into a number of qualitative considerations. These considerations have been formed into three possible make or buy scenarios: the firm has no experience of rapid prototyping (RP) or RM; the firm already has an RP department; and the firm already has an RM function. In order to analyse the decision further a quantitative approach has been taken, mainly adapted to the last scenario but applicable also to the second scenario. Here, manufacturing cost data has been directly compared with price information from two current RP bureaus. The differences between RM cost and RP price have been studied. Findings -Strategically, the points analysed were in favour of the make option. Economically, the lack of dedicated RM bureaus and the consequent use of RP costing has further pushed the make or buy decision in favour of make. Originality/value -There is a lack of work on the implementation of RM as a mainstream manufacturing process. Existing knowledge has begun to look at the use and costs of RM, however, this paper highlights the lack of dedicated RM providers.

The 3D printing order: variability, supercenters and supply chain reconfigurations

“…Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) 1 -3D printing -may become a general purpose technology (Holmström & Partanen 2014) with wide-ranging implications for: supply chains (Eyers & Potter 2015;Ruffo, Tuck & Hague 2007;Holmström & Partanen 2014), market structure , sustainability (Chen et al 2015), and production (Markillie 2012). "3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.…”

“…Hence, product variability, in addition to product launch (Khajavi et al 2015) is a pivotal antecedent for the co-location of traditional manufacturing and DDM. Demand for specialized products and demand from specialized geographies will reduce 3D printing's raw materials costs (Ruffo, Tuck & Hague 2007), and advance 3D printing technology. We propose that resulting cost reductions and quality improvements will make 3D printing viable for urgent, otherwise disruptive production in existing manufacturing facilities.…”

“…3D printing reduces tooling requirements (Eyers & Potter 2015), affecting lead times and the need for amortization of tooling costs across a large number of components (Ruffo, Tuck & Hague 2007). 3D printing also reduces: inventory holding, part obsolescence and shortages (Holmström & Partanen 2014), packing and packaging (Berman 2012), assembly work Tuck, Hauge & Burns 2007), the need to develop production processes in the product development stage (Gibson, Rosen & Stucker 2010), setup costs, and changeover time (Tuck, Hauge & Burns 2007).…”

Design for Additive Manufacturing: Trends, opportunities, considerations, and constraints

“…AM can be used to increase the economic, ecological and experience values of products [59]. Other values such as the freedom to produce parts in-house (eliminating the risks due to dependence on external suppliers and reducing supply chain vulnerability) [278], protecting business secrets, and preventing piracy [159] are difficult to quantify but nevertheless contribute to profitability. The 'tool-less' nature of AM allows it to reduce direct production costs when complexity and/or customization are high and when volumes are low [76].…”

Additive manufacturing: A framework for implementation

“…There are few-large scale applications of RM, many of which are for producing personalised products in the medical field [10]. Ruffo et al [11] provided a summary of the pitfalls which exist for companies looking at the use of RM as a solution for current manufacturing problems or wishing to take advantage of this emergent technology, suggesting they are concentrated in three specific areas:…”