What is the primary goal of your project?

The use case is the first KO criterion – it fundamentally determines which process classes are eligible.

New Part / First Production

New component that does not yet exist or replaces a conventionally made part.

Repair / Cladding Overlay

Restoration of worn parts: turbine blades, tools, moulds.

DED preferred

Coating / Cladding

Functional layer for wear/corrosion protection on a substrate.

DED Powder / W-LMD / Cold Spray

Hybrid Manufacturing (AM + CNC)

Combination of additive manufacturing and machining in one setup.

DED in CNC

Prototype / Functional Mockup

Validation of geometry, function and material properties.

Toolmaking / Mould Making

Injection moulds with conformal cooling, die casting and stamping tools.

PBF / DED

Which material family is required?

Hard KO factor – some processes are physically incompatible with certain material families.

Steel & Stainless Steel

316L, 17-4PH, 15-5PH, 304, Duplex, Maraging

Tool Steel

H13, M2, 1.2344, 1.2083, D2, P20

Toolmaking

Titanium & Lightweight

Ti-6Al-4V, Ti Gr.2, TiAl, Ti-6242, cp-Ti

Aerospace

Aluminium

AlSi10Mg, AlSi7Mg, Scalmalloy, Al6061, Al7050

Nickel Superalloys

IN625, IN718, Hastelloy X, Waspaloy, Mar-M247

High-Temp.

Cobalt-Chrome

CoCrMo (dental), CoCrW Stellite 6, Co28Cr6Mo

Medical

Copper & Cu Alloys

Cu-ETP, CuCrZr, CuNiSi, OFE-Cu, CuSn, CuAl

E-Mobility

Refractory & Special

Tungsten, Tantalum, Niobium, Molybdenum, W-Re, HEA

Extreme

Not yet defined

Open / process-dependent.

What is the maximum part dimension (longest edge)?

Hard KO factor – determines directly which machine classes are physically suitable.

< 50 mm

Micro parts: dental, watch components, miniature mechanics.

PBF

50 – 150 mm

Standard parts: brackets, flanges, implants, small housings.

150 – 400 mm

Typical engineering build envelope: housings, fixtures, tools.

400 – 1000 mm

Large structural parts: turbine housings, aerospace structures.

DED / WAAM

> 1000 mm

Huge structures without limit (robot, gantry, Sciaky EBAM).

WAAM / DED-EB

What is the annual production volume?

Critical for economic viability – directly affects setup and scaling costs.

1 – 5 Parts

Individual part, repair, custom or spare part.

5 – 50 Parts

Small series, pre-production, tools, prototype batch.

50 – 500 Parts

Small-series (special machinery, aerospace, motorsport).

500 – 5,000 Parts

Medium-series (automotive, medical, consumer goods).

BJT / PBF-ML

> 5,000 Parts

True mass production (consumer, large-scale automotive).

BJT / MEX

What is the primary decision factor?

Your most important criterion is weighted 1.5× in the scoring algorithm.

Highest Part Quality

Maximum density, precision and reproducibility – cost secondary.

Fastest Production

Minimum throughput time – time-to-part has highest priority.

Lowest Cost

Lowest unit cost and minimum material waste are decisive.

Maximum Flexibility

Rapid design changes, broad material range, large build envelope.

Process Safety / Certification

Traceability, qualified processes, standard compliance first.

Material Efficiency / Sustainability

Minimum material waste, resource conservation, CO₂ footprint.

Important Note

This is a heuristic recommendation based on physical limits. It does not replace engineering analysis.

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