White Paper

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as additive layer manufacturing (ALM) or 3D printing (3DP), is a manufacturing method with significant potential but a number of issues. It has been earmarked as the next industrial revolution and has already found some specific industry applications. AM involves three dimensional structures being built up one layer at a time. Each layer is melted to fuse powder particles together before the next layer is applied. This is repeated to continuously build a three-dimensional product.

In this white paper, we will take a look at AM from the metallurgical perspective. As with any other manufacturing process, different materials provide different benefits for particular applications. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of AM at each of the three main manufacturing stages: pre-processing, processing, and post-processing. 

We will also discuss some typical component applications that this new manufacturing process is being used for, and all the metallurgical issues involved.