Metal Additive Manufacturing: From History to Applications

Abstract

AbstractAdditive manufacturing (AM), a new tool in the manufacturing toolbox, has hit the apex of the latest scenario of product developments. The technology is first recognized by Chuck Hull (co-founder of 3D systems) in 1987 that expended lightweight material for processing. However, the EOS introduced the first metal processed AM machine (EOSINT M160) to the market based on direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). Owing to the advantages offered, particularly the manufacturing of complex parts and reduction in product development steps, metal printers have gained considerable popularity among different industries. Consequently, numerous firms took part in commercializing their own AM technique with the respective proprietary names. The discussion on the type of various firms and their entry into AM market is elaborated under the history section. In the subsequent sections, the fundamental steps involved and essential aspects pertained to AM material compatibility are elucidated. Besides, the emphasis is given to AM techniques employed for metal/alloys processing. These AM technologies comprise powder bed fusion (PBF) process, powder fed fusion process and binder jetting technique. The mentioned processes are further sub-classified based on feedstock material and the energy source employed for consolidation. At last, the reader is introduced to the plethora of applications about metal AM in the manufacturing industries like aerospace, biomedical and automobile. In a nutshell, the basic idea behind this chapter is to provide an insight to the reader regarding the metal AM technology in terms of its history, material compatibility, fundamental steps, processing techniques and applications.