Choosing the optimum technological alternative for 3d printing

The period between the design of a product and the moment from which the product is no longer profitable on the market represents its life cycle. Decreasing the profitability of the product on the market means that the company must find solutions to launch a new product. The new products can be assimilated in the manufacture by own conception at the level of the enterprise, on the basis of the purchased manufacturing licenses and on the basis of the reference models of a similar product existing on the market. The paper presents the methodology for choosing the optimal technological variant for a part manufactured by 3D printing using two technological variants, through the criterion of unit technological cost and the criterion of total technological cost. Depending on the relationship between the size of the manufacturing batch and the calculated critical size of the manufacturing batch, respectively between the unit technological cost and the total technological cost for the two technological variants, the optimal technological variant of manufacturing can be established.