The impact of additive manufacturing technologies in the future development of supply chains

The study encompasses multiple industrial sectors, with a particular focus on those where additive technologies can be effectively implemented. The most vulnerable element of the production process is the production line equipment employed in serial production, where the interdependent and continuous sequential processes are highly vulnerable to a potential failure on the production line. The availability of parts for complex production line equipment, often from other continents, is very limited at the point of end-use, so that the failure of even a single component can cause a complete shutdown of production and gigantic losses. However, the integration of an additive manufacturing tool within the maintenance department of the respective plants could offer a viable solution in such circumstances. The present study investigates the impact of additive manufacturing technologies on the development of supply chains. The large-scale industrial implementation of additive manufacturing technologies should be approached in a manner analogous to the integration of surgical robots in the medical field: while experiments are underway, their widespread utilization remains impractical, either from a financial or technological standpoint.