Physics / mechanism
Layer-by-layer material deposition or selective solidification controlled by digital geometry files. Core modalities: powder bed fusion (PBF-L, PBF-EB), directed energy deposition (DED), vat photopolymerisation (SLA/DLP), material jetting, and binder jetting. Key parameters: layer thickness (20–100 µm typical), build rate (10–100 cm³/hr for metals), surface roughness (Ra 5–20 µm as-built), and dimensional tolerance (±0.1–0.2 mm). SOTA metal systems (EOS M 400-4, Trumpf TruPrint) run multi-laser PBF at 400 W per beam with in-situ melt-pool monitoring. Aerospace-qualified Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718 are production-grade. Printed electronics and photonic waveguide structures are early-stage but advancing.
Competitive landscape
Subtractive CNC machining dominates precision metal parts; casting/forging wins on volume cost. Key competitive axes:
| Approach | Geometric freedom | Throughput | Unit cost at volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBF metal AM | High | Low–medium | High |
| CNC machining | Medium | High | Low–medium |
| Die casting / forging | Low | Very high | Very low |
Companies using
Connected ideas
Sources
Frontier (open questions)
- To be added.