Towards a sustainable and economic selection of part candidates for additive manufacturing

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to present a methodology to help end-users to find appropriate part candidates for the use of the additive manufacturing (AM) technology. These shall be capable of bringing AM into their businesses. The concept furthermore includes approaches for redesigning current available parts and helps to estimate the economic implications of the use of the technology. Design/methodology/approach -The approach starts to discuss general economic aspects for the successful use of AM. While describing the introduction of new technologies into existing businesses, the importance of an appropriate part selection for AM is pointed out. A methodology for a part selection process is presented, and the different criteria are developed. An approach for a redesign of the selected parts, including the gathering of requirements, is given based on different sample parts. A variation of criteria to include measures for product piracy is highlighted. Findings -The methodology has proven applicability in several research and industry projects in aerospace applications. Independent part selections from experts analyzed within a project of the European Space Agency had a 90 per cent overlap with the results. It allows companies with only basic AM knowledge to start a part screening for applicable AM candidates in their own company with a reasonable effort. Originality/value -The methodology for the redesign process helps to identify the main functions of the products targeted and the relevant environment, so one can benefit from the various advantages that AM has to offer. The selection methodology helps to ask the right questions and to reduce the effort.

Cost models of additive manufacturing: A literature review

“…Lifecycle cost, sustainability, supply chain and production costs have been less focused on. General aspects of AM (Bikas et al, 2015;Bogers et al, 2016;Brans, 2013;Cardaropoli et al, 2012a;Ferro et al, 2016;Gao et al, 2015;Go & Hart, 2016;Hedrick et al, 2015;Kianian et al, 2016;Lindemann et al, 2015;Mellor et al, 2014;Muita et al, 2015;Nickels, 2016;Rayna & Striukova, 2016;Scholz et al, 2016;Winkless, 2015;Wits et al, 2016;Wong & Hernandez, 2012); industry (Brettel et al, 2016;Gaub, 2015;Fera & Macchiaroli, 2010;Stock & Seliger, 2016); implications of its use (Bogers et al, 2016;Huang et al;Newman et al, 2015;Rayna & Striukova, 2016); example of its application (Caiazzo et al, 2013;Cardaropoli et al, 2012b;Gupta et al, 2016;Huang et al;Uhlmann et al, 2015;Wits et al, 2016); flexibility (Brettel et al, 2016;Cox et al, 2016) and technology selection (Newman et al, 2015) allow us to contextualize AM in an actual production system. There are many papers on mechanical characteristics, microstructures and properties (Brugo et al, 2016;Hinojos et al, 2016;Huynh et al;List et al, 2014;<...>…”

“…Furthermore, the individualization of customer demands increases with an increase of different variants. One possibility to encounter these developments may be delivered by the production technology of Additive Manufacturing (AM) (Lindemann et al, 2015). According to ASTM (2012).…”

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

“…Lindemann et al [191] presented a method to select candidates for AM from a larger pool of parts. The 2015 draft of ISO ASTM/DIS 20195 [157] also includes a procedure for identifying the potential of AM for a given part.…”

“…Although AM can be "an economically convenient alternative to conventional manufacturing processes" [30], it is agreed that parts should be redesigned for AM and not simply reproduced using an AM process [30][130] [191] [270]. Lindemann et al [191] presented a method to select candidates for AM from a larger pool of parts.…”

“…), and material costs (based on part volume, multiplied by up to 1.5 to account for support and multiplied by up to 7 to account for material waste). Lindemann et al [190] [191] built on the work of Gibson et al with an extensive model to define machine costs. They also introduced a part complexity factor to allow for the increased time needed to design support structures and place complex parts in the build environment.…”