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The Additive Manufacturing technologies Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) are capable to produce thermoplastic or metal parts, which are fit for end-user products. Both technologies create three-dimensional objects directly from a 3D CAD model with little restrictions regarding the shape of the object. This geometrical freedom in design can be utilized to largely improve the functionality of series products by substituting conventional parts with additive manufactured ones. Four criteria are presented here to identify components of a product for a re-design. A successful re-design has to meet the needs of the producer and his customers. The selection criteria and success factors for a re-design are demonstrated in four cases.

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Purpose A prerequisite for the successful adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in industry is the identification of areas, where such technologies could offer a clear competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the unique value-adding characteristics of AM, define areas of viable application in a firm value chain and discuss common implications of AM adoption for companies and their processes. Design/methodology/approach The research leverages a multi-case-study approach and considers interviews with AM adopting companies from the Swiss and central European region in the medical and industrial manufacturing industries. The authors rely on a value chain model comprising a new product development process and an order fulfillment process (OFP) to analyze the benefits of AM technologies. Findings The research identifies and defines seven clusters within a firm value chain, where the application of AM could create benefits for the adopting company and its customers. The authors suggest that understanding the AM process chain and the design experience are key to explaining the heterogeneous industrial maturity of the presented clusters. The authors further examine the suitability of AM technologies with agile development techniques to pursue incremental product launches in hardware. It is clearly a field requiring the attention of scholars. Originality/value This paper presents a value-driven approach for use-case identification and reveals implications of the industrial implementation of AM technologies. The resultant clustering model provides guidance to new AM adopters.

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