Cost-oriented planning of equipment for selective laser melting (SLM) in production lines. Issue 1 (2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kopf, Robin; Gottwald, Jonas; Jacob, Alexander; Brandt, Milan; Lanza, Gisela
• Is Part Of: CIRP annals. Volume 67:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 471
• Page End: 474
• Publication Date: 2018
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing -- Cost -- Planning; Production engineering -- Research -- Periodicals; 670.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cirp.2018.04.032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-8506

Abstract

Abstract: Equipment for selective laser melting (SLM) has mainly been developed for applications in rapid prototyping. This paper provides a methodology for a cost-oriented optimisation and planning of SLM equipment for series production lines. The approach thus supports the transition to more productive and cost-efficient equipment. The paper presents a two-step methodology: at first, setup time is reduced using heuristic rules based on the activity node network plan. Afterwards, the build-up time is optimised by cost and performance parameters like laser power and build chamber size. Using the presented methodology rules for a cost-oriented SLM-equipment can be derived.