查看文章

The economic performance of additive manufacturing (AM) is a heated discussion in the construction industry. The affordability of 3D printing is a critical factor for massive application in practice. Contour crafting (CC), one of the most common AM methods adopted in the construction industry, creates objects with smooth surfaces using polymer, ceramic slurry, cement, etc. This paper first analyzed the direct and indirect costs incurred during the CC process and then built an activity-based cost model. Direct costs were associated with the volume of the materials consumed in the printing process (including waste), while indirect costs relate to the manufacturing time, including labor hours and operating time of equipment. The activity-based cost model was formulated based on a concrete wall fabricated by CC. Next step of the study is to account for the impact of uncertainties in the modeling process and validate the …