What is a disadvantage of additive manufacturing?

The chosen answer indicates a concern regarding the quality assurance aspect of additive manufacturing. While additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, offers unparalleled design flexibility and can often produce complex geometries that are difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing methods, it can also introduce challenges in ensuring consistent quality.

Additive manufacturing processes typically involve layering materials to create objects, which can lead to variations in density and mechanical properties throughout the part. These variations may negatively impact the part’s overall performance and reliability, leading to additional quality assurance measures that need to be implemented to ensure each produced part meets the desired standards. Quality checks might require different techniques compared to those used in traditional manufacturing, which can complicate the manufacturing process.

In contrast, the other options point out challenges or considerations that, while relevant, may not directly equate to the core disadvantage of quality assurance in additive manufacturing. For instance, while additive manufacturing may involve higher costs for some applications or require specialized training, these factors can be mitigated in certain contexts or by organizations adapting to the technology. The material use issue can also be dependent on the design and optimization of the additive manufacturing process itself. Therefore, option A aptly highlights a primary disadvantage associated with ensuring product quality in additive manufacturing.