Performance modelling and simulation of metal powder bed fusion production system

Abstract New opportunities arise for the deployment of metal powder bed fusion as a scalable batch production method particularly for high value manufacturing in aerospace and medical industries. To avoid costly errors in design of such ‘Factories of the Future’, a discrete event simulation of a concept factory of 22 additive manufacturing machines is constructed. The impacts of part variety, operators and shift patterns on throughput and cost are investigated. Results showed optimum staffing are dependent upon the build duration of parts being manufactured. In all cases, significant improvements in machine utilisation and throughput can be achieved by full analysis of operator levels and shift patterns.