Review

Additive manufacturing towards product production: a bibliometric analysis

¹ Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
² Department of Business & Law, Universita degli Studi di Brescia, Italy
³ Department of Business Support Studies, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
⁴ Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa

^* e-mail: thydzo@yahoo.fr

Received: 14 October 2021
Accepted: 7 December 2021

Abstract

Additively manufactured products offer extensive variety to consumers than many forms of production. Additive manufacturing (AM) production system allows consumer involvement, which has created a huge but largely untapped market. However, there is a gap between production and the market. Therefore, AM towards product production which focuses on the Commercialization of Additive Manufactured Products (CAMPs) is imperative. Despite the importance of CAMP, specific focus of research on the commercialization of additively manufactured products are scanty. There is also a lack of knowledge about the conceptual structure, intellectual structure, research trends, and the thematic structure of CAMP research. To contribute to this stream of research, this study takes an exploratory dimension by conducting a bibliometric analysis of publications on the CAMP. The R package and its associated biblioshiny were the software used. The study reveals that studies on CAMP started in 2007 with renewed interest starting from 2012. Importantly, it was found that the most cited articles focused on the economic potential of AM products in the home and specific industries. Also, there is an increasing focus on the business models that are necessary for the commercialisation of AM products. Generally, there is a shift in focus from the firm to the market. However, this is a niche area and requires more attention. Themes such as commercialization are just emerging, and researchers need to devote more time and effort to the consumer side of the commercialization of AM products.