Additive manufacturing has played a substantial factor in the growth of the production sector. Since its entry in the 1980s, the emergence of additive manufacturing technologies has helped to reduce production costs & improve product performance in different sectors. But these technologies have also face key challenges in the case of large-scale production work.
Identification of a Business Case
In additive manufacturing, many companies face a big challenge when it comes to identifying a business case for large scale production involving high costs. Businesses face problems in choosing the best 3D printing application for their production work and they have to evaluate costs to select a suitable business case for their activities.
Slow Speed of Production
Another challenge for additive manufacturing is its slow speed in the case of high volumes of production. Additive manufacturing technologies need to be fast and scalable to fulfill the requirements for mass production.
Less Control on Production
Additive manufacturing technologies fail to fulfill the needs of business companies who want to carry out series production on repetition. Due to less control on this, companies often face challenges to produce reliable parts with a similar configuration.
Non-Availability of Suitable Materials for production
The non-availability of suitable materials is a big challenge using the production method with the help of additive technologies. Due to limited material diversity, it is hard to find a small set of compatible materials for production.
Additive manufacturing offers many benefits for production work and it is evident from the 3D Printed Rhino Skull case study. But there are a few challenges that hinder the manufacturing processes using additive technologies and these are expected to get resolved in the future.