Evaluating the Use of Additive Manufacturing in Industry Applications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is currently a frequently discussed topic in the industry, with promising benefits for the development and manufacturing of high-value products. This paper aims to investigate and structure the application purposes of additive manufacturing, especially Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), showing the benefits of and additional values created by the technology. Therefore a concept of Enablers and Objectives linked to the use of AM is developed. Based on this concept, 128 use cases from industry applications are investigated. The main finding is the relevance of AM benefits in industry applications. Currently there are two main application purposes of the AM technology: The improvement of a part's performance and a simplified manufacturing process. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.