Evaluation of 3D printers used in additive manufacturing by using interval type-2 fuzzy TOPSIS method

Abstract

Recently, additive manufacturing technology, which is used in production and especially in prototyping, provides facilities to manufacturers in terms of speed and cost. 3D (three-dimensional) printer technologies used in additive manufacturing make itself felt in almost every sector. There are many functional 3D printers in the market and many criteria are considered in the purchase process. Because the selection of an incorrect printer can cause problems to manufacturers in terms of production and time. For this, multi-criteria decision-making methods can be used to select the suitable 3D printer. In this study, it is aimed to select the most suitable 3D printer that will buy for use in prototyping operations of a company operating in production sector. According to the defined criteria (max printing volume, layer resolution, price, positioning precision), the interval type-2 fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to evaluate the alternatives. At the end of the study, sensitivity analysis is performed, alternatives are evaluated, and finally the most suitable 3D printer is determined.