Development of a multi-criteria decision-making tool for effective additive manufacturing technology selection in the Egyptian industry

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) offers significant advantages over conventional manufacturing, including reduced material waste, high precision, and tailored mechanical properties. However, the rapid proliferation of AM technologies complicates technology selection, especially in emerging contexts such as Egypt, where local economic conditions, material availability, and technical expertise impose constraints. This study develops a decision-support tool for selecting the most suitable AM technology for the Egyptian industry using a fuzzy VIKOR-based multi-criteria decision-making framework. Eleven criteria, identified through a survey of Egyptian professionals, cover application suitability and material/technical compatibility. Three candidate technologies, namely fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), and stereolithography (SLA), are evaluated using linguistic judgments from three decision-makers converted to triangular fuzzy numbers. FDM ranks first with Q=0, followed by SLS (Q=0.22) and SLA (Q=1.0). FDM’s superiority is attributed to its strong performance on compatibility with plastics/polymers, which is the predominant material class in Egyptian AM usage (67%) as revealed by a conducted survey. A systematic sensitivity analysis (varying each criterion weight by ±10% and ±20%) reveals that FDM remains top-ranked in 88.6% of scenarios. SLS becomes optimal in 11.4% of scenarios, specifically when increased emphasis is placed on design review or laser-based technology compatibility. SLA never achieves top ranking. The proposed framework provides a transparent, context-appropriate tool enabling Egyptian manufacturers to select AM technologies aligned with local capabilities, reducing investment risks and enhancing industrial competitiveness. The methodology is adaptable to other emerging economies facing similar constraints.