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Paper | 3D Printing Technology & International Logistics Sector
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Added on 2019-09-30
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Running Head: 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTORDissertation3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTORStudent Name: Student ID: Course Name: Course ID:Faculty Name: University Name:
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR1Executive SummaryThe paper has tried to understand the 3D Printing technology and international logistics sector.The research methodology that has been used is archival research method. The paper hasconsidered secondary research methods for the data collection and assessment. The recentadvancement in the 3D technology is a matter of curiosity and numerous industries are graduallyaccepting this technology. Therefore, it seemed imperative that the various growths in this aspectis studied and understood. Some of the advancements are also impacting the utility of thelogistics around the world. The advancements of the 3D technology will allow the businesses toproduce cheap products in house and will rely less on the international import of the products. Itwas expected that the utility of the international logistics will gradual reduce. The aim of theresearch was to understand the 3D printing technology and international logistics sector. Theobjectives of the research were directed towards this aim. The objectives of the research was tounderstand to understand the contemporary growth in the 3 Dimensional Printing Technology; tounderstand whether there exists chance for world to use customized and decentralized form of3D printer; to understand the influence 3D printing will have in a decade to come; and tounderstand whether 3D printing will disrupt the current logistics sector and warehousemanagement. The research findings are interesting to note. It has been understood that the 3Dprinting has reached around different MRL value for different product sector such as 10 for thedental products and around 4-6 for the industrial products. Various recent advancements havebeen observed in the recent years and the timeline shows appreciable upward trajectory. The impact of the technology on the manufacturing is expected to profound in the years to come.The 3D printing technology allows the industries to manufacture products that are of high qualityand of low price. However, perfection is yet to be attained. Therefore, it is difficult to state thatwhen this technology will dominate the whole manufacturing industry. The impact of the 3Dprinting on the supply chains is less evident at present and it does not seem that it will have anyprofound impact in a decade ahead.
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR2Table of ContentsExecutive Summary.........................................................................................................................1Introduction......................................................................................................................................4Research Background..................................................................................................................5Research Rationale.......................................................................................................................6Research Aim...............................................................................................................................6Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................6Research Questions......................................................................................................................6Research Scope............................................................................................................................7Summary......................................................................................................................................8Literature Review............................................................................................................................93D Printing and Advancements...................................................................................................9Historical Aspect of 3D Printing............................................................................................113D Printing Technology.........................................................................................................133D Printing at Present................................................................................................................14Availability of 3D printing for Industries...............................................................................14Contributors of 3D Printing....................................................................................................16Obstacles for 3D Printing.......................................................................................................173D Printing Processes.............................................................................................................173D Printing Industry Ahead.......................................................................................................20Application of 3D Printing Technology.....................................................................................223D Printing Utilities...................................................................................................................253D printing and Supply Chains..................................................................................................28Research Methodology..................................................................................................................33Primary and Secondary Research..............................................................................................33Quantitative and Qualitative Research.......................................................................................34Deductive and Inductive Research.............................................................................................34Empirical and Theoretical Research..........................................................................................35Results and Discussion..................................................................................................................363D Printing Competitiveness and its Future..............................................................................37
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR33D Printing Impacts in the Next Decade...................................................................................40Summary....................................................................................................................................42Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................43References......................................................................................................................................47List of FiguresFigure 1: 3D Printed Project Illustration.........................................................................................4Figure 2: 3D Human Heart Printing (Illustration Only)..................................................................5Figure 3: 3D Model Printing............................................................................................................9Figure 4: 3D Pizza Printing...........................................................................................................10Figure 5: 3D Printing Timeline 2000s...........................................................................................11Figure 6: 3D Printing Processes....................................................................................................13Figure 7: MetalFAB1 Industry Level 3D Printer..........................................................................15Figure 8: MRL Value 3D Printing.................................................................................................16Figure 9: Stereolithography...........................................................................................................18Figure 10: Digital Light Processing...............................................................................................19Figure 11: Selective Deposition Lamination.................................................................................19Figure 12: Electron Beam Melting................................................................................................20
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR4IntroductionFigure 1: 3D Printed Project Illustration3D Printing (3DP) has been growing gradually from prototyping to manufacturing customizedparts in low volume. It has started to create buzz around the industry professionals. However,there is consideration that whether this would be a suitable field to invest large sums or it is just afield of amusement. 3D printing can be seen spreading its wings to almost all the industry,beginning from IT industry to manufacturing and supply chains. This paper has focused onunderstanding the implications of the 3D printing technology for the global logistics industry(Manners-Bell and Lyon, 2012). The logistics industry amply utilizes the various transportationservices and there are some speculations that the utilization of the 3D printing in this filed canprofoundly impacts the extent with which the transportation services are being demanded in themarket. Moreover, there are numerous geographies that can utilize this technology to build bettercapitals. The logistics industry combines six elements in general, namely, “consumption, design,production, transport, selection, and final delivery.” One can observe that all the elements aredeeply connected and it is the expectation that embracing the 3D technology can streamline theseactivities and goals can be achieved faster. 3D printing allows the companies involved in the development of the products in manufacturingeven single unit at lowest cost possible. Therefore, it can be stated that the manufacturingcompanies do not have to bother about the mass production and economies of scale. Thereduction in the time and costs utilized for the production due to the expected growth in the 3Dtechnology is likely to positively impact the market price of the products being brought in themarket (Airbus, 2014). Moreover, the reduction in the utilization of the resources for the productwill help the companies to produce the local products effectively and compete with thecompanies and the products that are coming from abroad. It can also be stated that the companiesthat are coming from the external market at present use the global logistics to a greater extent tocompete with the local market (Tatham et al, 2014). However, after the advancement in the 3D
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR5technologies, one can expect growth in the manufacturing of the products from the local marketwhich will eventually improve the local market condition. The demand of the global logisticsmight reduce due to this overturn of the manufacturing techniques. The above discussion helps ininferring that 3D technology might be disruptor for the technological industry. This disruptivetechnology is likely to challenge the logistics and manufacturing. There are some of theresearchers who have realized that this technology might have appreciable impact as statedearlier (Van Diepen, 2012; Markillie, 2012; Anderson, 2012). There have been a series of debates concerning the 3D printing and the logistics. It is expectedthat the evolution in the 3D technology is likely to revolutionize the methods that are utilized todo the production of goods (Ambrosi and Pumera, 2016). The organizations will be graduallyshifting from the transportation oriented organization to the costs that are employed on the labor. Research Background3D printing technology has spent appreciable amount of time with the manufacturing industry asthere are some specific industries such as the automotive and aerospace that has utilized thismethod to develop prototypes. It has been observed from the study that the stability and safetyprovided by the products developed by 3D printing are almost similar to that of the products thatare manufactured through the traditional methods (Anderson, 2012). It has been found that theutilization of this technology in the development of the aircraft components positively impactsthe overall weight of the aircraft. Moreover, it contributes in the reduction of the carbon dioxideemission and saves fuel. The 3D technology has also been used in the health care industry forsome time now. The term used for the 3D printing in the medical field is “additivemanufacturing.” There are various elements that are being manufactured in the medical sectorsuch as the dental components and the hip joints and are readily used by the doctors from aroundthe world (Bak, 2003). The extent of 3D printing technology has reached to the level that nowthere are some of the researchers who are trying to replicate the human cells that can be used toreplace the defective part of the individuals. One might witness artificial human internal organsin the coming days if everything went as desired and planned.
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR6Figure 2: 3D Human Heart Printing (Illustration Only)The use of 3D printing can be observed in the other sectors also. There are some fashiondesigners and architects who are orienting towards this technology to develop models. Itemssuch as shoes, buildings, and even the eatable pizza are being developed by the 3D printingtechnologies. 3D printing technology is the technology of replication done by the machines andthere is no limit to what can be replicated. One can view the development in the marketconcerned with the 3D printing (Bailiere, 2013). Moreover, it is expected that in the near futuremost of the industries will be substantially using this technology. This will allow the businessesto procure and produce locally. Therefore, one can expect the impact it can have on the logisticsindustry. This paper has tried to understand the same. The implication of the 3D advancement onthe logistics industry is the major area that is being investigated in this paper. Research RationaleThe reason behind understanding the implication of the 3D printing technology is that thistechnology seems to be at the forefront of the new era. However, there has been limited researchin this field and fewer researchers have shown interests in conducting the academic study.Therefore, it has been understood by far that conduction of some more study in this field whichcan help the industry understand this technology better is imperative. Considering this aspect,this paper has been presented based on various research questions, aims, and objectives. Research AimThe research aim for this paper is to understand the 3D printing technology and internationallogistics sector. Research ObjectivesBased on the research aim, mentioned below are the research objectives that have been defined:-To understand the contemporary growth in the 3 Dimensional Printing Technology-To understand whether there exists chance for world to use customized and decentralizedform of 3D printer
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SECTOR7-To understand the influence 3D printing will have in a decade to come-To understand whether 3D printing will disrupt the current logistics sector and warehousemanagementResearch QuestionsThe study of some of the papers developed by the various researchers led to the understandingthat there exists close relationship between the 3D technology development and manufacturingand logistics. Though the focus of the paper is to understand the 3D printing technology inrelation to the logistics, there are some of the research questions that have been defined whichwill be used as the guide to take ahead the research further. The research paper is intended tofocus on the below mentioned questions while moving ahead with the study:Central QuestionWhat impact 3D printing will have on the logistics sector in the years to come?Sub-research questions1.To what extent 3D printing has developed till now?This question will help the researcher in getting proper insight into the developments that havebeen done in the 3D printing industry. The purpose of investigating this question is to get anoverview of the various advancements and activities that have being conducted in this area.Moreover, the investigation will help in understanding the overall scope of this technology.2.How 3D printing technology impacting manufacturing?This sub research question has been defined to understand the way 3D printing is impacting themanufacturing sector on global scale. The question will help the researcher in understanding theimpact in quantitative terms. Moreover, the researcher will try to understand that whether the useof 3D printing technology in manufacturing bring any kind of competitive advantage to thecompany involved in the same. 3.How 3D printing technology impacting supply chains?The question has been defined to understand whether 3D printing will have influence on thesupply chains or the logistics and if yes, then the extent of the same will be assessed. Whileunderstanding this question, the inner supply chain activities will be understood, and then thesame will be assessed in comparison to the logistics that are concerned with the 3D printing. 4.What impact 3D printing has on the international logistic sector?This question will help the researcher in understanding the future of 3D printing in globallogistics. The time period that has been taken for the assessment is two decades. It is the mostsought after aspect of the 3D printing technology that interests numerous individuals from the
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