Production Management Fundamentals for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

The additive manufacturing (AM) is a new way to produce parts, which in the last years had a significant application in the traditional production environment, since it demonstrated its capability to produce parts without particular defects and with good mechanical properties. During the last two decades the AM was firstly used to produce polymers' products and after metals' products; this evolution made possible the breakthrough in the traditional industrial sectors such as the aerospace, the mechanical, and other related sectors. Nevertheless, the introduction of this technology in this context put on the table of the researchers and practitioners some questions about the management of this technology in a more complex context, characterized by the integration with other machines. Aim of this chapter is to present a literature review of the principal facets of the AM related to the field of operations management and trying to define a model to account the costs of production and to schedule the machine activity.

Ergonomic Assessment Methods Enhanced by IoT and Simulation Tools

“…Industrial world has been greatly influenced by I4.0 and it is currently facing great changes due to the innovation led by new technologies and new sustainability principles. [1] I4.0 is revolutionizing both small-medium enterprises and great industries by introducing new approaches for cost optimization, also in innovative fields, such as the Additive Manufacturing, [2] moreover, factories are becoming "smart," [3] by integrating product and process design [4] in order to improve productivity. In this context, some technologies, which have been considered very expensive until few years ago, are becoming cheaper and accessible to small enterprises.…”