 Rapid manufacturing: impact on supply chain methodologies and practiceChristopher Tuck, Richard Hague and Neil Burns International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2007, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-22 Abstract: This paper demonstrates the use of Rapid Manufacturing (RM) as the enabling technology for flexible manufacturing in a number of industrial sectors. This paper discusses the evolution of Rapid Prototyping (RP) to RM and the current issues that require further research for the successful integration of this technology within manufacturing companies. The use of RM will have particular impact on supply chain management paradigms such as lean and agile and has particular strategic fit with mass customisation. The effect of RM will have on these paradigms is discussed and confirmed with example cases from automotive production, motor sport and medical devices industries. In conclusion, RM has already been shown in the three cases to offer benefits, particularly where fast reconfiguration of the manufacturing process is required and with the production of customised components. Keywords: rapid manufacturing; additive manufacturing; lean manufacturing; agile manufacturing; leagile; mass customisation; flexible manufacturing; rapid prototyping; supply chain management; SCM; automotive production; motor sports; medical devices manufacture; process reconfiguration. (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijsoma:v:3:y:2007:i:1:p:1-22 Access Statistics for this article More articles in International Journal of Services and Operations Management from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.