The question of when and with what benefit additive manufacturing processes can be used in an industrial context is not easy to clarify and is often answered with rapid prototyping, small quantities or lightweight design. Occasionally, attempts are also made to convert components designed for classic manufacturing processes to additive manufacturing.
To show that the strengths of the technology, especially in relation to additive “series production”, are much greater and more diverse, and how to recognise and implement them, is to be a major contribution of this book.
To this end, this chapter takes a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks of additive manufacturing, with the aim of supporting the company's own idea generation and planning. Subsequently, methods of assessing the potential in the corporate context are presented and aspects and criteria of suitability in principle are discussed. This is followed by a component portfolio analysis. Finally, an evaluation catalogue for component suitability for additive manufacturing is discussed for this chapter.
