We do not usually use the term “consumer goods”, yet they refer to a category of finished products that are sold to and used by consumers – as opposed to industrial goods that are used by industries, firms or manufacturing plants.
Here is the thing, this category of finished products we use on a daily basis, often drives the industrial manufacturing, and the development of new and advanced processes that may support this niche market hence the need to focus on the manufacturing constraints that surround products development. And engineers know we can’t talk about “product development” without involving the use of Additive Manufacturing.
Most importantly, let us not forget that we are living in an era where the end-users are more and more involved in all stages of the manufacturing process, from the design step until they receive their products. This new modus operandi leads to a shift in the manufacturing paradigm that led some researchers to coin the term “Social Manufacturing”.
What is the place of AM in this shift from “conventional manufacturing” to “social manufacturing”?
The next Additive Talks session, set to take place on Wednesday 10 November, from 03.30 pm to 04.30 CET ambitions to discuss this question by focussing on the “best practices to leverage Additive Manufacturing in the consumer goods industry”.