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Nesting and Scheduling Problems for Additive Manufacturing: A Taxonomy and Review
Yosep Oh1,2, Paul Witherell1, Yan Lu1
1Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Additive Manufacturing
|June 8, 2026
Summary
This study surveys nesting and scheduling in Additive Manufacturing (AM), crucial for mass customization. It proposes a new taxonomy to better integrate these production management aspects for future research.
Area of Science:
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Operations Research
- Computer Science
Background:
- Industry 4.0 trends drive complex geometries via Additive Manufacturing (AM).
- AM research is shifting from design realization to production management for mass customization.
- Nesting and scheduling are critical for efficient batch processing of heterogeneous parts in AM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the current status of nesting and scheduling studies applied to Additive Manufacturing.
- To identify critical issues and future research directions in AM production management.
- To propose a novel, holistic taxonomy for classifying AM nesting and scheduling research.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature survey of 53 technical papers on AM nesting and scheduling.
- Development of a new three-dimensional taxonomy (Part, Build, AM Machine) to classify research.
- Definition of six classes and eight supplementary criteria for organizing research papers.
Main Results:
- Existing taxonomies are limited as they treat nesting and scheduling separately.
- The proposed taxonomy provides a holistic view, integrating both aspects.
- 53 papers were classified, revealing key research gaps and challenges.
Conclusions:
- A unified approach to nesting and scheduling is essential for advancing AM production.
- The proposed taxonomy offers a framework for future research and development in AM.
- Further investigation is needed to address the identified critical issues in AM production management.
