A new mixed production cost allocation model for additive manufacturing (MiProCAMAM)

Additive Manufacturing (AM) maturity allows diffusion of this technology in conventional production environments. In the decision to adopt a new technology, production costs are one of the most important factors to analyse, even if it is not developed enough yet. Several cost models for AM have been proposed, but each of them focuses on a specific aspect of the process, lacking the ability to consider the effective costs associated with AM, i.e. regarding AM as part of a more general production context. This study develops a cost model that evaluates process costs of AM for relevant technologies such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering and electron beam melting. The proposed cost model allows estimation of the total cost per part; it is worth noting that the parts produced have different sizes, quantities and complexity characteristics, but the objects are all fabricated in the same build job. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the proposed cost model not only considers the AM working costs but also the pre- and post-processing steps directly linked to the AM building phase. The integration of AM on the shop floor is witnessed by the introduction of an index such as the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) index, which allows this evaluation to be more connected to real production system issues. At the end of the paper, an experiment to compare the results of the proposed model with those of previous studies is reported.