Additive Manufacturing (AM) — also known as 3D printing — is a group of manufacturing processes in which objects are built layer by layer from digital 3D models. Instead of removing material (as in machining) or shaping it in molds (as in casting), AM adds material only where needed, using feedstocks such as polymers, metals, ceramics, or composites.
Design for Additive Manufacturing refers to the methodological knowledge of additive manufacturing. These include principles, methods, heuristics and design strategies used to fully exploit the unique capabilities of additive manufacturing (AM), rather than merely adapting designs intended for traditional manufacturing processes.
DfAM is often divided into ‘restrictive DfAM’ and ‘opportunistic DfAM’. While restrictive DfAM highlights the limitations associated with the use of additive manufacturing (e.g. build time, material anisotropy, feature size, surface finish, support material, warping and thermal stresses), opportunistic DfAM shows the possibilities offered by DfAM (geometric complexity, printed assemblies, mass customisation, multi-material printing, part consolidation, functional embedding).
Product architecture refers to the way a product’s functions are organized and mapped onto its physical components.
It describes how parts of a product interact, how they are arranged, and how they work together to deliver the product’s intended performance.
In other words, product architecture defines:
The major functional elements of a product
The physical building blocks (modules, components, subsystems)
The relationships and interfaces between those blocks
How design decisions affect manufacturing, cost, maintenance, and future product variants