Autor: Manuel Rippel

Additive manufacturing is today increasingly used to produce final products and not only prototypes in product development. Like many technologies before breakthrough it is mainly applied in niche markets, where it is overcoming its current limitations. Afterwards, it has the potential to transform industries as MP3 and iPod have done with the music business. The economist even speaks of the next industrial revolution [1]. This article supports companies in evaluating the strategic implications of additive manufacturing of final products in the mid- to long-term.

Over the last two decades, themes such as resource scarcity, environmental pollution and rising commodity prices have gained increasing importance in the design of automotive industry production processes. As a result, the pressure on car manufacturers to plan their production facilities according to energy efficiency criteria is constantly rising. At present, machine tool suppliers still provide insufficient data to support purchasing decisions based on energy efficiency aspects. A case study conducted with Daimler AG explores a car manufacturer’s specific information requirements with respect to energy efficiency. Furthermore, an approach for the integration of energy data in the product data sheets of machine tool suppliers is presented.