Additive manufacturing and its impacts on manufacturing industries in the future concerning the sustainability of AM

Abstract: With the emergence of modern technologies in manufacturing processes, companies need to adapt themselves to these technologies to stay competitive. Additive Manufacturing is one of the upcoming technologies which will bring major changes to the manufacturing process. AM (Additive Manufacturing) offers flexibility in design, production size, customization, etc., Even though there are numerous advantages from the implementation of AM technologies less than 2% of the manufacturing industries use them for production. The purpose of the thesis was to study the impact of AM on manufacturing industries in 5-10 years and the barriers it is facing for widespread diffusion. Additionally, its impact on Sustainability aspects is also studied. A literature review was conducted to understand the current AM processes, their applications in different manufacturing sectors, their impact on business strategies, operations, and Product Life cycle. From the study, it was concluded that AM technologies are still in their maturing state and has a lot of uncertainties that it must overcome. The most notable barriers being implementation costs, limited materials, and protection of Intellectual property. The thesis also presents the projection for AM in 2030. AM is advantageous for Environmental and Economic sustainability with very little research on Societal sustainability.