scholarly journals A dynamic order acceptance and scheduling approach for additive manufacturing on-demand production

2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (9) ◽  
pp. 3711-3729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Li ◽  
David Zhang ◽  
Shilong Wang ◽  
Ibrahim Kucukkoc
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Zhang ◽  
Stefan Jedeck ◽  
Li Yang ◽  
Lihui Bai

PurposeDespite the widespread expectation that additive manufacturing (AM) will become a disruptive technology to transform the spare parts supply chain, very limited research has been devoted to the quantitative modeling and analysis on how AM could fulfill the on-demand spare parts supply. On the other hand, the choice of using AM as a spare parts supply strategy over traditional inventory is a rising decision faced by manufacturers and requires quantitative analysis for their AM-or-stock decisions. The purpose of this paper is to develop a quantitative performance model for a generic powder bed fusion AM system in a spare parts supply chain, thus providing insights into this less-explored area in the literature.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, analysis based on a discrete event simulation was carried out for the use of AM in replacement of traditional warehouse inventory for an on-demand spare parts supply system. Generic powder bed fusion AM system was used in the model, and the same modeling approach could be applied to other types of AM processes. Using this model, the impact of both spare parts demand characteristics (e.g. part size attributes, demand rates) and the AM operations characteristics (e.g. machine size and postpone strategy) on the performance of using AM to supply spare parts was studied.FindingsThe simulation results show that in many cases the AM operation is not as cost competitive compared to the traditional warehouse-based spare parts supply operation, and that the spare parts size characteristics could significantly affect the overall performance of the AM operations. For some scenarios of the arrival process of spare parts demand, the use of the batched AM production could potentially result in significant delay in parts delivery, which necessitates further investigations of production optimization strategies.Originality/valueThe findings demonstrate that the proposed simulation tool can not only provide insights on the performance characteristics of using AM in the spare parts supply chain, especially in comparison to the traditional warehousing system, but also can be used toward decision making for both the AM manufacturers and the spare parts service providers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 (1) ◽  
pp. 001021-001027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassie Gutierrez ◽  
Rudy Salas ◽  
Gustavo Hernandez ◽  
Dan Muse ◽  
Richard Olivas ◽  
...  

Fabricating entire systems with both electrical and mechanical content through on-demand 3D printing is the future for high value manufacturing. In this new paradigm, conformal and complex shapes with a diversity of materials in spatial gradients can be built layer-by-layer using hybrid Additive Manufacturing (AM). A design can be conceived in Computer Aided Design (CAD) and printed on-demand. This new integrated approach enables the fabrication of sophisticated electronics in mechanical structures by avoiding the restrictions of traditional fabrication techniques, which result in stiff, two dimensional printed circuit boards (PCB) fabricated using many disparate and wasteful processes. The integration of Additive Manufacturing (AM) combined with Direct Print (DP) micro-dispensing and robotic pick-and-place for component placement can 1) provide the capability to print-on-demand fabrication, 2) enable the use of micron-resolution cavities for press fitting electronic components and 3) integrate conductive traces for electrical interconnect between components. The fabrication freedom introduced by AM techniques such as stereolithography (SL), ultrasonic consolidation (UC), and fused deposition modeling (FDM) have only recently been explored in the context of electronics integration and 3D packaging. This paper describes a process that provides a novel approach for the fabrication of stiff conformal structures with integrated electronics and describes a prototype demonstration: a volumetrically-efficient sensor and microcontroller subsystem scheduled to launch in a CubeSat designed with the CubeFlow methodology.


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