Additive manufacturing: technologiesand applications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide details of additive manufacturing technologies and their applications in a selection of industrial sectors. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this study first provides details of additive manufacturing technologies. It then discusses and provides examples of applications in four industries: construction, aviation and aerospace, automotive and healthcare. Finally, conclusions are drawn. Findings Additive manufacturing emerged in the 1980s and has since been developed to include a broad family of techniques, each with respective benefits and limitations, which are capable of printing components and structures from a diversity of materials. The technology has conferred numerous, economic and operational benefits to each of the four sectors considered, frequently including the production of components that cannot be manufactured by conventional methods. Originality/value This provides a detailed insight into the uses of additive manufacturing in a selection of industrial sectors where they have exerted a significant impact.