Since the 1980’s, additive manufacturing (AM) has gradually advanced from rapid prototyping applications towards fabricating end consumer products. Many small companies may prefer accessing AM technologies through service providers offering production services as result-oriented Industrial Product-Service System (IPSS) rather than investing in their own production line. This study investigated potential benefits of IPSS using system dynamics modeling to study resource demands between two situations: one where an IPSS approach is used and one that is the traditional ownership of production equipment. This study concluded that AM service providers with demand-varying customers could increase service performance and maximize use of production equipment.

1. Resource Consumption in Additive
Manufacturing with a PSS Approach
Nanond Nopparat, Babak Kianian,
Tony Thompson, Tobias C. Larsson
Blekinge Institute of Technology
Karlskrona, Sweden

2. Introduction to Additive Manufacturing
Photo credit: 3D systems
Photo credit: 3D systems
Photo credit: Concept laser
Photo credit: Concept laser Photo credit: Bespoke Innovations Inc.

5. Modeling
Traditional ownership model
Model scenarios
Time-critical demand
(order fulfilled in 1 day or cancelled)

Non-time critical demand

(order fulfilled in up to 7 days is ok)

Mixed demand

Success criteria Result-oriented PSS
Cancellation of time-critical order is
less than 10%.

Non-time critical demand is met

within 7 days.

MU = manufacturing unit,
SU = service unit

6. Result: Number of AM devices
required to meet success criteria
Traditional ownership model
# of machines required
Result-oriented PSS
Result-oriented PSS
MU = manufacturing unit SU Traditional ownership Result-oriented PSS
= service unit

7. Result: Capacity utilization performance
ization of
ed machines
Traditional ownership Result-oriented PSS

8. The demand fulfillment performance of each
scenario Traditional Result-
ownership oriented
PSS
Time- Nontime- Mixed type Time- Nontime- Mixed type
critical critical demand critical critical demand
demand demand demand demand
The number of AM devices
required Orders 28371 28371 28371 28371 28371 28371
received, un
its
Product 25753 28371 26209 26836 28371 28181
built, units
Same day 90.8 32.6 77.8 94.6 35.6 63.1
shipping, %
1 day - 34.2 12.3 - 51.7 17.2
backlog, %
9.9 0.0
2 day - 20.5 2.1 - 12.6 13.2
backlog, %
3 day - 9.9 0.2 - 0.0 5.5
backlog, %
4 day - 2.7 0.0 - 0.0 0.3
backlog, %
5 day - 0.1 0.0 - 0.0 0.0
backlog, %
6 day - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0
backlog, %
7 day
9.2
- 0.0
7.6
0.0
5.4
- 0.0
0.7
0.0
backlog, %

9. Conclusions
The result-oriented PSS achieved intensification of machine
use. This reduces the number of machines required, which
contributes to reduction in energy and materials required to
produce the machines.
Increased intensity of use of product could result in earlier
replacement of the product. If future machines in this nascent
market are improved, the benefits can be realized sooner.

Scenarios with mixed demand priorities could increase the
flexibility in production capacity allocation and support the
increased use of production equipment.

10. Thx!
Tobias C. Larsson | tlr@bth.se
Product Development Research Lab