Impactos da manufatura aditiva nos sistemas produtivos e suas repercussões nos critérios competitivos

Abstract

The tools related to Advanced Manufacturing are developing rapidly and will transform the future of production systems. From these technologies the production paradigm will be changed for the development, manufacture and commercialization of new products. In this context, one of the technologies most carefully addressed in production systems is Additive Manufacturing. This research aimed to identify the impacts of the use of the Additive Manufacturing on the production systems and its repercussions on the competitive criteria. To achieve this goal, Multiple Research Methods were used. Initially, a systematic literature review on the subject was carried out. From this review, propositions emerged about the impacts of the additive manufacturing on the production systems and their repercussions on the competitiveness of organizations. These propositions were the basis for the elaboration of the interview questionnaire, which was applied to three different groups: Manufacturers and Representatives of the Additive Manufacturing (Brazil and USA), Users of the technology (Brazil, USA and Germany) and Representatives of national governments (Brazil and USA). For both the literature and the interviews findings, content analysis was carried out in order to identify the convergences and divergences between them. In order to compare these results with the empirical reality, two field studies and one case study were carried out. As a result, it is emphasized that the use of Additive Manufacturing is a path with no return. Its benefits include the reduction of lead time, from the product development to the manufacturing product development, and the viability of new business models. Barriers such as speed of print and final quality (appearance) should be solved soon, due to the technology improvement, giving organizations greater competitiveness in a significant set of criteria.