Additive manufacturing and the product development process: Insights from the space industry
Year: 2017
Editor: Anja Maier, Stanko Škec, Harrison Kim, Michael Kokkolaras, Josef Oehmen, Georges Fadel, Filippo Salustri, Mike Van der Loos
Author: Lindwall, Angelica; Dordlofva, Christo; Öhrwall Rönnbäck, Anna
Series: ICED
Institution: Luleĺ University of Technology, Sweden
Section: Design for X, Design to X
Page(s): 345-354
ISBN: 978-1-904670-93-3
ISSN: 2220-4342
Abstract
With Additive Manufacturing (AM), manufacturing companies have the potential to develop more geometrically and functionally complex products. Design for AM (DfAM) has become an expression implying the need to design differently for the AM process, compared to for conventional, usually “subtractive” manufacturing methods. There is a need to understand how AM will influence the product development process and the possibilities to create innovative designs, from the perspective of the product development engineer. This paper explores the expected influence of AM on the product development process in a space industry context. Space industry is characterized by small-scale production, and is increasingly cost-oriented. There is a general belief that AM could pave the way for more efficient product development. Three companies have been studied through interviews, observations and workshops. Results show that engineers’ expected implications of introducing AM in the space industry are: the involvement and influence of customers and politics on innovativeness; the need for process understanding and usage of new tools for DfAM-thinking; the need for qualification of AM processes.
Keywords: Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), Design engineering, Design process, Space industry, Product development process