Breaking the mould: achieving high-volume production output with additive manufacturing

TY - JOUR

T1 - Breaking the mould

T2 - achieving high-volume production output with additive manufacturing

AU - Huang, Yuan

AU - Eyers, Daniel R.

AU - Stevenson, Mark

AU - Thürer, Matthias

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful for the funding provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 71872072] and the Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme 2017. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

PY - 2021/12/1

Y1 - 2021/12/1

N2 - Purpose: The study aims to examine a discrepant industrial case that demonstrates how to achieve economies of scale with additive manufacturing (AM), thereby expanding the scope of AM beyond high-variety, customised production contexts. Design/methodology/approach: Abductive reasoning is applied to analyse a case of using AM to compete with conventional production, winning a contract to supply 7,700,000 products. Comparing this case to existing theories and contemporary practices reveals new research directions and practical insights. Findings: Economies of scale were realised through a combination of technological innovation and the adoption of operations management practices atypical of AM shops (e.g. design for volume, low-cost resource deployment and material flow optimisation). The former improved AM process parameters in terms of time, cost and dependability; the latter improved the entire manufacturing system, including non-AM operations/resources. This system-wide improvement has been largely overlooked in the literature, where AM is typically viewed as a disruptive technology that simplifies manufacturing processes and shortens supply chains. Originality/value: It is empirically shown that an AM shop can achieve economies of scale and compete with conventional manufacturing in high-volume, standardised production contexts.

AB - Purpose: The study aims to examine a discrepant industrial case that demonstrates how to achieve economies of scale with additive manufacturing (AM), thereby expanding the scope of AM beyond high-variety, customised production contexts. Design/methodology/approach: Abductive reasoning is applied to analyse a case of using AM to compete with conventional production, winning a contract to supply 7,700,000 products. Comparing this case to existing theories and contemporary practices reveals new research directions and practical insights. Findings: Economies of scale were realised through a combination of technological innovation and the adoption of operations management practices atypical of AM shops (e.g. design for volume, low-cost resource deployment and material flow optimisation). The former improved AM process parameters in terms of time, cost and dependability; the latter improved the entire manufacturing system, including non-AM operations/resources. This system-wide improvement has been largely overlooked in the literature, where AM is typically viewed as a disruptive technology that simplifies manufacturing processes and shortens supply chains. Originality/value: It is empirically shown that an AM shop can achieve economies of scale and compete with conventional manufacturing in high-volume, standardised production contexts.

KW - 3D printing

KW - Additive manufacturing

KW - COVID-19

KW - Economies of scale

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116970641&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/IJOPM-05-2021-0350

DO - 10.1108/IJOPM-05-2021-0350

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85116970641

SN - 0144-3577

VL - 41

SP - 1844

EP - 1851

JO - International Journal of Operations and Production Management

JF - International Journal of Operations and Production Management

IS - 12

ER -