Enhancing the Additive Manufacturing process for spare parts by applying Agile Hardware Development principles

摘要

The availability of spare parts can turn into an issue, when those components are out of stock and cannot be reproduced easily. In this article, the German Federal Armed Forces serves as a prime example, since the equipment used is several decades old and due to that extended lifespan, its availability can turn into a significant problem, especially when the original documentation is unavailable. This article further develops the design process of manufacturing spare parts by means of additive manufacturing (AM), using a component of the military industry as a case study. The design of spare parts by means of AM is a complex task, which designers must face and in order to encounter the issues arising, it is possible to use principles and practices of agile hardware development to clarify and promote the robustness of that process. Using the concept of iterations and increments, the traceability and the quality of the spare parts produced is improved as well as the readiness of the overall process.