ABSTRACT
In today’s world, the increase in demand for lightweight high-quality personalised products and the need of realising products development within a short time has led to the continuous development of advanced manufacturing technologies. The growing demands for industrial solutions for better machining and manufacturing operations are becoming more overwhelming. Also, customer demands for customised products and services that are more time and cost-effective are leading to a resultant shift from Industry 3.0, mainly dominated by computerised machines, to a more robust and accommodating Industry 4.0. This comes with the development and harmonisation of different forms of technologies aimed at providing sustainable decentralised production environment to shorten the realisation time in product development and service delivery. Additive manufacturing (AM) technique is an advanced manufacturing technique currently employed in production of intricate engineering components with improved properties. It is one of the most valuable technologies enhancing the realisation of the 4th Industrial Revolution. This chapter discusses AM technology’s principles, types, and applications. The chapter further looks at the significance and relevance of AM to Industry 4.0 in the production of on-demand customised items in the today’s world and the future trend of AM in Industry 4.0.
