Configuration Optimization of Additive Manufacturing Based Supply Chain Using Simulation Approach

摘要

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a process which can directly produce a three-dimensional solid object by stacking up layers of materials. As the AM technology advances, 3D printing becomes a new approach for manufacturing industry, which will potentially reconfigure Supply Chain (SC) network. However, there are only a few pilot studies with simple assumptions on AM based supply chain optimization, which are far from the real situations. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to figure out how AM would reorganize supply chain network. Furthermore, we will investigate what factors should be taken into consideration while establishing an AM based supply chain. This study aims to identify the best configuration of AM supply chain using simulation approach. Various scenarios will be generated with the consideration of demands level, the machine types, cost and other supply chain performance. This study finds that an appropriate proportion of AM machine and conventional machine could sufficiently decrease the amount of WIP, processing time and material cost. Furthermore, this research aims to figure out how configuration and machine type would affect the SC through cost and time performance indicators.