How 3D Printing Is Disrupting The Supply Chain

Inefficient inventory costs companies billions of dollars a year.

Long OEM lead times, high inventory costs, poor stock turnover, and obsolete material create immense waste within operations.

Additive manufacturing (AM) helps solve these problems and will be used in every industry worldwide. It’s the fourth industrial revolution.

AM is the process of creating an item by joining layers of material from a CAD file.

A simple example is my sister’s partner that designed a CAD file for an infantry explosive device. They prototyped the product, 3D printed it from home, and sold 2,000 initial units to the United States Special Forces.

In aerospace, the regulations are complex, but AD will help replicate non-essential aircraft parts made from metal or plastic. These are cabin components like headrests and tray tables to airframe and engine components.

It will have a profound impact on aircraft maintenance.

What’s the difference between 3D printing and additive manufacturing?

3D printing is often used by people, not in manufacturing or engineering. It’s a process that uses smaller, cheaper, and less precise printers than AM.