Abstract
3D printing technologies are often lauded for being flexible, but there is little consensus or detail in the literature as to what this means in practice. This chapter provides a detailed examination of the flexibility concept for 3D printing, and explores how flexibility can be strategically deployed to tackle a range of operations challenges.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdel-Malek, L., Das, S. K., & Wolf, C. (2000). Design and implementation of flexible manufacturing solutions in agile enterprises. International Journal of Agile Management Systems, 2(3), 187–195.
Beach, R., Muhlemann, A. P., Price, D. H. R., Paterson, A., & Sharp, J. A. (2000). A review of manufacturing flexibility. European Journal of Operational Research, 122(1), 41–57.
Bourell, D. L., Leu, M. C., Chakravarthy, K., Guo, N., & Alayavalli, K. (2011). Graphite-based indirect laser sintered fuel cell bipolar plates containing carbon fiber additions. CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, 60(1), 275–278.
Brill, P. H., & Mandelbaum, M. (1989). On measures of flexibility in manufacturing systems. International Journal of Production Research, 27(5), 747–756.
Butscher, A., Bohner, M., Doebelin, N., Hofmann, S., & Müller, R. (2013). New depowdering-friendly designs for three-dimensional printing of calcium phosphate bone substitutes. Acta Biomaterialia, 9(11).
Buzacott, J. A., & Kahyaoglu, Y. (2000). Flexibility and robustness in manufacturing. International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2(1–7), 546–558.
Chryssolouris, G. (2006). Manufacturing systems: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Corrêa, H. L. (1994). Linking flexibility, uncertainty and variability in manufacturing systems: Managing unplanned change in the automotive industry. Aldershot: Avebury.
Das, S. K., & Abdel-Malek, L. (2003). Modeling the flexibility of order quantities and lead-times in supply chains. International Journal of Production Economics, 85(2), 171–181.
D’Aveni, R. (2015). The 3-D printing revolution. Harvard Business Review, 93(5), 40–48.
Demming, W. E. (2000). The new economics: For industry, government, education. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Despeisse, M., et al. (2017). Unlocking value for a circular economy through 3D printing: A research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 115, 75–84.
ElMaraghy, H. A. (2006). Flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing systems paradigms. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 17(4), 261–276.
Eyers, D. R. (2015). The flexibility of Industrial Additive Manufacturing Systems. Cardiff University.
Eyers, D. R., & Dotchev, K. D. (2010). Technology review for mass customisation using rapid manufacturing. Assembly Automation, 30(1), 39–46.
Eyers, D. R., & Potter, A. T. (2017). Industrial additive manufacturing: A manufacturing systems perspective. Computers in Industry, 92–93, 208–218.
Eyers, D. R., Naim, M. M., Potter, A. T., & Gosling, J. (2016). Overcoming the flexibility-cost dichotomy through Industrial Additive Manufacturing Systems. 19th International Working Seminar on Production Economics, Innsbruck, Austria, 24–28 February 2016.
Eyers, D. R., Potter, A. T., Gosling, J., & Naim, M. M. (2018). The flexibility of industrial additive manufacturing systems. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 38(12), 2313–2343.
Gerwin, D. (1982). Do’s and don’ts of computerized manufacturing. Harvard Business Review, 60(2), 107–116.
Gibson, I., & Shi, D. (1997). Material properties and fabrication parameters in selective laser sintering process. Rapid Prototyping Journal, 3(4), 129–136.
Gosling, J., Purvis, L., & Naim, M. M. (2010). Supply chain flexibility as a determinant of supplier selection. International Journal of Production Economics, 128(1), 11–21.
Gupta, D., & Buzacott, J. A. (1989). A framework for understanding flexibility of manufacturing systems. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 8(2), 89–97.
Han, J. H., Wang, Y., & Naim, M. (2017). Reconceptualization of information technology flexibility for supply chain management: An empirical study. International Journal of Production Economics, 187, 196–215.
Hedenstierna, C. P. T., Disney, S. M., Eyers, D. R., Holmström, J., Syntetos, A. A., & Wang, X. (2019). Economies of collaboration in build-to-model operations. Journal of Operations Management, 1–21.
Hill, T., & Chambers, S. (1991). Flexibility – A manufacturing conundrum. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 11(2), 5–13.
Holmström, J., Partanen, J., Tuomi, J., & Walter, M. (2010). Rapid manufacturing in the spare parts supply chain: Alternative approaches to capacity deployment. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 21(6), 687–697.
Hyun, J.-H., & Ahn, B.-H. (1992). A unifying framework for manufacturing flexibility. Manufacturing Review, 5(4), 251–260.
Jain, A., Jain, P. K., Chan, F. T. S., & Singh, S. (2013). A review on manufacturing flexibility. International Journal of Production Research, 51(19), 5496–5970.
Karuppan, C. M., & Ganster, D. C. (2004). The labor–machine dyad and its influence on mix flexibility. Journal of Operations Management, 22(6), 533–556.
Khajavi, S. H., Partanen, J., & Holmström, J. (2014). Additive manufacturing in the spare parts supply chain. Computers in Industry, 65(1), 50–63.
Kleer, R., & Piller, F. T. (2019). Local manufacturing and structural shifts in competition: Market dynamics of additive manufacturing. International Journal of Production Economics, 216, 23–34.
Koste, L. L., Malhotra, M. K., & Sharma, S. (2004). Measuring dimensions of manufacturing flexibility. Journal of Operations Management, 22(2), 171–196.
Leong, G. K., Snyder, D. L., & Ward, P. T. (1990). Research in the process and content of manufacturing strategy. OMEGA: International Journal of Management Science, 18(2), 109–122.
Li, Q., Kucukkoc, I., & Zhang, D. Z. (2017). Production planning in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. Computers & Operations Research, 83, 157–172.
Lloréns, F. J., Molina, L. M., & Verdú, A. J. (2005). Flexibility of manufacturing systems, strategic change and performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 98(3), 273–289.
de Meyer, A. Loch, C. H., & Pich, M. T. (2002). Managing project uncertainty: From variation to chaos. Mit Sloan Management Review Winter, 60–67.
Naim, M. M., Potter, A. T., Mason, R. J., & Bateman, N. (2006). The role of transport flexibility in logistics provision. International Journal of Logistics Management, 17(3), 297–311.
Narasimhan, R., & Das, A. (1999). An empirical investigation of the contribution of strategic sourcing to manufacturing flexibilities and performance. Decision Sciences, 30(3), 683–718.
Oke, A. (2005). A framework for analysing manufacturing flexibility. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 25(10), 973–996.
Parker, R. P., & Wirth, A. (1999). Manufacturing flexibility: Measures and relationships. European Journal of Operational Research, 118(3), 429–449.
Parnaby, J. (1979). Concept of a manufacturing system. International Journal of Production Research, 17(2), 123–135.
Parnaby, J. (1987). Education and training in manufacturing systems engineering. IEE Proceedings, 134 Part A(10), 816–824.
Parnaby, J., & Towill, D. R. (2009). Exploiting the concept of a manufacturing system. Part I: The relationship with process control. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 20(7), 915–932.
Petrick, I. J., & Simpson, T. W. (2013). 3D Printing disrupts manufacturing. Research Technology Management, 56(6), 12–16.
Sawhney, R. (2006). Interplay between uncertainty and flexibility across the value-chain: Towards a transformation model of manufacturing flexibility. Journal of Operations Management, 24(5), 476–493.
Sawhney, R. (2013). Implementing labor flexibility: A missing link between acquired labor flexibility and plant performance. Journal of Operations Management, 31(1–2), 98–108.
Sethi, A. K., & Sethi, S. P. (1990). Flexibility in manufacturing: A survey. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 2(4), 289–328.
Shekarian, M., Reza Nooraie, S. V., & Parast, M. M. (2019). An examination of the impact of flexibility and agility on mitigating supply chain disruptions. International Journal of Production Economics, 107438.
Shewchuk, J. P., & Moodie, C. L. (1998). Definition and classification of manufacturing flexibility types and measures. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 10(4), 325–349.
Slack, N. (1983). Flexibility as a manufacturing objective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 3(3), 4–13.
Slack, N. (1991). Manufacturing advantage: Achieving competitive manufacturing operations. London: Mercury.
Slack, N. (2005). The flexibility of manufacturing systems (Reprint). International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 25(12), 1190–1200.
Sreedevi, R., & Saranga, H. (2017). Uncertainty and supply chain risk: The moderating role of supply chain flexibility in risk mitigation. International Journal of Production Economics, 193, 332–342.
Suarez, F. F., Cusumano, M. A., & Fine, C. H. (1996). An empirical study of manufacturing flexibility in printed circuit board assembly. Operations Research, 44(1), 223–240.
Swamidass, P. M. (2000). Manufacturing Flexibility. In P. M. Swamidass (Ed.), Innovations in competitive manufacturing. New York: AMACOM.
de Toni, A., & Tonchia, S. (1998). Manufacturing flexibility: A literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 36(6), 1587–1617.
Upton, D. M. (1994). The management of manufacturing flexibility. California Management Review, 36(2), 72–89.
Upton, D. M. (1995). What really makes factories flexible? Harvard Business Review, 73(4), 74–84.
Vokurka, R. J., & O’Leary-Kelly, S. W. (2000). A review of empirical research on manufacturing flexibility. Journal of Operations Management, 18(4), 485–501.
Zelenović, D. M. (1982). Flexibility – A condition for effective production systems. International Journal of Production Research, 20(3), 319–337.
Zhang, Q., Vonderembse, M. A., & Lim, J.-S. (2003). Manufacturing flexibility: Defining and analyzing relationships among competence, capability, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Operations Management, 21(2), 173–191.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eyers, D. (2020). Flexibility Strategies for 3DP. In: Eyers, D. (eds) Managing 3D Printing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23323-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23323-5_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23322-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-23323-5
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)