Identifiering och utvärdering av reservdelar för additiv tillverkning: kriterier och processteg

This thesis was conducted in collaboration with Scania as part of a broader project involving departments at Scania, RISE, and two subcontractors specializing in polymer and metal additive manufacturing (AM). The purpose of this study was to support Scania’s transition to using AM for low-demand spare parts by developing a research and development process that outlines the steps from a technical drawing to an additively manufactured spare part. The research questions focused on; RQ1: How can potential spare parts be identified as suitable for additive manufacturing based on their physical and functional properties? RQ2: Once a spare part has been identified as suitable for additive manufacturing, what technical steps are required to proceed? RQ3: What are the primary guidelines for key tasks to facilitate the adoption of additive manufacturing for low-demand spare parts? The study focused on polymer AM using Selective Laser Sintering and Multi Jet Fusion, as well as metal AM using Laser Powder Bed Fusion. To establish a foundation, a theoretical framework was developed, and empirical data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. These findings formed the basis for the results. The study concludes that suitability can be assessed using a defined set of criteria, and that key steps include acquiring and preparing computer aided design data, evaluating AM feasibility, selecting print parameters, updating documentation through Engineering Change Orders, and validating the part for its intended application. The proposed process consists of five phases, of which the fifth lies outside the scope of this thesis. The analysis indicates that the proposed process is a valid approach to adopting AM, although other methods and additional steps, such as redesign for AM, may also be applicable. Future research is recommended to explore alternative AM technologies for spare part production and for Scania to implement and evaluate the proposed process in practice. However, the results are limited by the study's scope, which focused on the selected AM techniques and a small batch of spare parts. Additionally, the use of semi-structured interviews may limit the extent to which the findings are relevant beyond this case or transferable to other organizations