Air Force Institute of Technology AFIT Scholar Theses and Dissertations Student Graduate Works 3-23-2017 Implication of Additive Manufacturing on United States Air Force Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Supply Chain Shane R. Veitenheimer Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.afit.edu/etd Part of the Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons Recommended Citation Veitenheimer, Shane R., "Implication of Additive Manufacturing on United States Air Force Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Supply Chain" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1694. https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/1694 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Graduate Works at AFIT Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AFIT Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IMPLICATION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ON UNITED STATES AIR FORCE EXPEDITIONARY CIVIL ENGINEER SQUADRON SUPPLY CHAIN THESIS Shane R. Veitenheimer, Captain, USAF AFIT-ENV-MS-17-M-234 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the United States Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. AFIT-ENV-MS-17-M-234 IMPLICATION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ON UNITED STATES AIR FORCE EXPEDITIONARY CIVIL ENGINEER SQUADRON SUPPLY CHAIN THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Systems Engineering and Management Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Engineering Management Shane R. Veitenheimer, BS Captain, USAF March 2017 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED AFIT-ENV-MS-17-M-234 IMPLICATION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ON UNITED STATES AIR FORCE EXPEDITIONARY CIVIL ENGINEER SQUADRON SUPPLY CHAIN Shane R. Veitenheimer, BS Captain, USAF Committee Membership: Lt Col Jeffrey C. Parr, PhD Chair Lt Col Vhance V. Valencia, PhD Member Lt Col Robert E. Overstreet, PhD Member AFIT-ENV-MS-17-M-234 Abstract Additive manufacturing is mandated as a technology for the Department of Defense to consider to implement. Previous efforts have shown positive potential for additive manufacturing (AM) for United States Air Force Civil Engineering but do not explore the economic impact. This research examines implementation by investigating a specific Explosive Ordnance Disposal repair part supply chain in the current combat theater of operations. A framework to capture the basic financial savings AM could realize was developed to aid AM decision making. This research established a Scenario Planning and Monte Carlo simulation based framework to produce an estimated annual cost for a system with various configurations and machine capabilities under varied machine life lengths. The model informs the baseline value of AM replacement and what this represents for an associated machine cost. Further, the research presents potential roadblocks and additional cost areas that would impact an AM decision. The overall results take the next step to understand AM’s implementation for the United States Air Force and Civil Engineer Squadrons. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank my committee for believing in me and all of their support and direction. I especially appreciate Lt Col Parr bringing me back to earth when I hit an impasse. Also, I couldn’t have done this without my incredible GEM classmates and Engineers around the Air Force that helped redirect me or find data. Finally, thank you…for reading this. Shane R. Veitenheimer v Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix I. Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Background .....................................................................................................................1 Problem Statement ..........................................................................................................5 Research Objectives and Investigative Questions...........................................................5 Thesis Overview .............................................................................................................7 Implications .....................................................................................................................8 II. Literature Review ............................................................................................................9 Chapter Overview ...........................................................................................................9 Supply Chain ...................................................................................................................9 Military Supply Chains ............................................................................................ 10 Additive Manufacturing ................................................................................................11 Advantages .............................................................................................................. 14 Implementation Challenges ....................................................................................... 2 Modeling Cost ........................................................................................................... 6 Additive Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Scenario Planning ....................................7 Scenario Planning ..................................................................................................... 8 Monte Carlo Simulation ............................................................................................ 9 Summary .......................................................................................................................10 III. Methodology ................................................................................................................11 Chapter Overview .........................................................................................................11 System ...........................................................................................................................11 Locations ................................................................................................................. 12 Equipment ................................................................................................................ 13 Costs 15 Scenarios .......................................................................................................................16 Configuration .......................................................................................................... 17 Capability ................................................................................................................ 17 Data ...............................................................................................................................18 vi Transportation Costs ............................................................................................... 18 Repair Data ............................................................................................................. 19 Model ............................................................................................................................20 Summary .......................................................................................................................24 IV. Analysis and Results ....................................................................................................25 Chapter Overview .........................................................................................................25 Model Results ...............................................................................................................25 Interpreting the model ...................................................................................................29 Fully Capable AM Scenario .................................................................................... 30 Limited AM Scenario ............................................................................................... 31 Summary .......................................................................................................................32 V. Conclusions and Recommendations .............................................................................33