A risk analysis method for implementation of additive manufacturing

Journal article, 2026

The evolution of additive manufacturing (AM) over the past few decades has significantly shifted its application from prototyping to the production of final products. Despite this progress, the industrial uptake of AM remains limited due to the complex integration challenges within existing manufacturing value chains. This paper addresses the gap by presenting a prescriptive approach for assessing risks associated with incorporating AM into established workflows. Utilising two case studies from the ‘Demonstration of Infrastructure for Digitalization enabling industrialisation of AM (DiDAM)’ project, which involves several Swedish manufacturing companies, this study develops a methodology for risk assessment. The proposed method involves mapping workflows into multi-domain matrices, establishing dependencies with uncertainty values, and performing risk analysis to determine potential impacts. Results indicate that this quantitative risk assessment approach provides valuable insights into hidden issues that could affect the implementation of AM. By offering a decision-support tool for managers, this methodology enhances the likelihood of successful integration of AM and supports digitalisation efforts in traditional manufacturing settings. The practical applications of this approach are demonstrated through a detailed analysis of the two industrial cases.