The rapidly evolving market for additively manufactured (AM) spare parts can be confusing and difficult to navigate for companies that are new to the process or making the shift from traditional manufacturing. AM also known as 3D printing, had previously been associated more with prototype production. Now with latest AM production systems, a vast range of production materials in both plastics and metals, and multiple technologies, there is a lot of choice, but it can be a challenge to know where to start.

AM is a game-changer for on-demand spare parts because it opens a world of new possibilities for on-site production, reducing the need for physical inventory, bulk buying of parts, stocking, and transportation. Now spare parts can be produced in a very wide range of durable production materials very quickly from the digital data of the part. Spare parts can be stored in a digital inventory and produced on demand with advanced AM systems. When using AM, there is no need for expensive tooling or production lines, which facilitates flexible, customized manufacturing with no lower limit for the number of parts produced. Additionally, parts can be created without the design constraints that apply to parts produced by traditional “subtractive” manufacturing such as milling and machining. Leveraging the benefits of AM, parts can be designed in a more efficient way in many cases reducing the weight of the part and costs of materials.