This dissertation was written as part of the Executive Master in Business
Administration (EMBA) at the International Hellenic University.
Additive Manufacturing technology has been evolving for several years. New material
options, better processing speeds and greater autonomy are some of the
characteristics of this technology that are still under research. However, in its current
state, many commercially available 3D printers are competing with traditional
manufacturing techniques in the fabrication of end-use products. In the current
dissertation, Additive Manufacturing is compared with Injection Molding in terms of
fabricating a plastic housing for a real-world company. In the first half of the
dissertation, literature is reviewed regarding Additive Manufacturing, the
opportunities and barriers that come with it, its application on various industries and
its impact on supply chains. In the second half of the dissertation, a case under study is
examined. First its existing production strategy based on Injection Molding is
presented and afterwards, a number of alternative production strategies based on
different Additive Manufacturing technologies are explored. A comparison is made in
terms of Lead Time and Total Production Cost and finally, the findings are displayed.
Some of the conclusions drawn from this research are that none of the Additive
Manufacturing technologies is able yet to replace Injection Molding for medium- and
high production volumes. However, as regards low-volume production, both Rapid
Tooling and Rapid Manufacturing can offer a shorter Lead Time and a lower Total
Production Cost, while offering also increased flexibility, reduced warehousing costs
and the potential of adopting a mass customization business strategy.
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