Decision methods application to compare conventional manufacturing process with metal additive manufacturing process in the aerospace industry

Resumo

© 2016, The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering.In the aerospace industry, decision-making between conventional and innovative processes, such as selective laser melting (SLM), is somewhat challenging, not only because of the different technology readiness level [7] between them, but also because of the thorough comparison between the attributes of each alternative against evaluation criteria. In this scenario, the simulation among different decision methods under relevant criteria for aerospace industry can clarify the weight of the attributes of each technology and their influence in a trade study of metal parts. The main purpose of this paper is to compare additive manufacturing with machining process of a typical titanium part used in the aerospace industry by different decision-making approaches but bringing the focus onto the input data (characteristics) of alternative processes against requirements. Three decision approaches (AHP, SPA and VDI) are applied to compare three alternatives, that is, SLM, topology optimization and selective laser melting (TO and SLM), and machining process regarding three attributes (saving, weight and time). It was found that TO and SLM is a strong candidate for making titanium parts for aerospace application, mainly because of criteria, such as weight reduction and raw material saving. In addition, most methods got the same ranking of alternatives for a given scenario, even for different sub-criteria. This shows a good robustness level of those methods and a strong influence of the characteristics of each alternative.

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