Feasibility of On-demand Additive Manufacturing of Spare Parts

Spare parts availability is crucial for extending the life of consumer products. However, long-term availability could lead to high stocks of spare parts, which might not be used. Instead, on-demand manufacturing of spare parts with additive manufacturing (AM) is a promising alternative. This paper presents a method to evaluate parts on their...

3D Printing for Repair: An Approach for Enhancing Repair

The availability and storage of spare parts are the main barriers to product repair. One possibility would be to 3D print spare parts, which would also enable the repair of products not intended to be repaired. Besides manufacturers, 3D printing spare parts is an interesting option for self-repair by consumers. However, the digitisation of...

Additive manufacturing for circular product design: A literature review from a design perspective

Circular product design is a relatively new approach to design suitable strategies to realize circular products. Additive manufacturing (AM) is seen as a promising enabling production process. It has digital and additive characteristics, which makes AM different from conventional production techniques. However, it is yet unclear how this...