African Journal of Applied Research Vol. 4, No. 2 (2018), pp. 227-241 http://www.ajaronline.com http://doi.org/10.26437/ajar.04.02.2018.20 ISSN: 2408-7920 Copyright ⓒ African Journal of Applied Research Arca Academic Publisher 227 ADVANCES IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES IN ACHIEVING PRODUCTIVITY Oppon, C.E. 1 , Hackney, P. 2 , and Shyha, I. 3 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Coast Technical University, Ghana. 2&3 Mechanical and Construction Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, United Kingdom. 1 pceoppon@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Additive Manufacturing which is also referred as three dimensional printing. Even though the technique has had remarkable improvements since its emergence over 25 years ago, still faces several technical challenges related to material characterization and availability compared with other conventional techniques. This paper aims at investigating the impact of additive manufacturing in achieving productivity. The objectives are to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques. The methodology adopted was textual analysis of existing works. It provides a radically new method of production that enables new and better designs to be realised at lower cost with enhanced productivity and greater sustainability. It also transform supply chains and the way businesses operate that will result in completely new business models. The strengths identified are part complexity; material types and low volume production – advantage and the weaknesses are large parts; high accuracy and surface finish; high-volume production; and material properties. Keywords: Additive manufacturing, cost, fabrication, prototyping, productivity. INTRODUCTION Additive Manufacturing (AM) which is the official industry standard term (ASTM 2792) for all applications of the technology encompasses many technologies including subsets such as: Additive Fabrication (AF), Rapid Prototyping (RP), 3-Dimensional Printing (3DP), Layer Manufacturing, and Solid Freeform Fabrication. Unlike conventional machining techniques, where material is removed successively until the desired shape or dimensions are achieved, AM is a layer-by-layer technique of producing three dimensional solids generated directly from 3D model data in which one layer is formed atop the previous one until the required geometry or shape is obtained. Whilst subtractive processes start from the top down, Additive processes start from the ground up (Nagel and Liou, 2012).