AM is akin to a family of children where each child is a different age and they are not all maturing at the same rate but eventually, they will become strong contributors to society. It is important to keep this kinetic mindset as you progress through the different chapters of the book. Here are four Ds to remember to prepare you for all the new AM technologies and improvements.
- Disruptive – AM doesn’t work like previous methods of manufacturing. It is additive by inception which requires different conceptual thinking and design rules.
- Diverse – AM is a family of technologies but if you learn the Simplified View of AM: Layer, Energy and Material, you can likely describe any process.
- Deployed – How an organization deploys AM is important. The TBGA AM Maturity Model provides a conceptual roadmap to build skills and grow the organizational knowledge to successfully adopt AM.
- Developing – Along with the how you deploy AM, the 4 Building Blocks create a successful construct to reduce risk and friction within an organization as AM is inherently interdisciplinary.