Information Flow Analysis Enabling the Introduction of Additive Manufacturing for Production Tools-Insights From an Industrial Case

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has traditionally been used for prototyping of products, however, in the last few decades, it has seen a rising growth in the manufacture of final products. The addition of AM as a manufacturing method in the portfolio of a company's production capabilities increases the complexity of decision-making. This is because the decisions are often not based on the same criteria and constraints, as related to conventional manufacturing processes. In this paper, we investigate this challenge by studying how AM affects the current workflow and the associated information flow for a design-make process in a Swedish manufacturer before and after the integration of AM. In this paper, it is argued that apart from an understanding of how to design for AM, it is equally important to consider how introducing AM alters the existing information flow and how to benefit from information available in various design-make process steps to facilitate decision making process. The result clarifies that the current process relies largely on tacit and experiences-based knowledge, whereas to take advantage of AM, more precision is required to capture and process the available information.

Supply Chain Management: A Structured Narrative Review of Current Challenges and Recommendations for Action

“…In short, additive manufacturing substitutes, shortens, and postpones the material flow and transforms it into an information flow [130]. A case study [131] investigates how additive manufacturing alters information flow and enhances decision-making by leveraging data across design and production stages. The study finds that current practices rely on tacit knowledge and experience, necessitating a more precise approach for additive manufacturing integration.…”