Special Issue on Recent Trends in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM), defined as the “process of joining materials to make objects from three-dimensional model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies” by the American Society for Testing Materials, has been recognized as a remarkable scientific and industrial technique due to its capacity to produce complex and functional parts directly. AM is a process to build up these parts in a layer-by-layer process involving sequential deposition, melting, fusion, and binding of the successive material layers from three-dimensional design data, and has allowed the reduction of waste material, minimal production lead time, eliminated design constraints, and reduced the cost involved. Many industries are currently adopting AM to exploit these advantages, and AM products are expected to find application in a wide range of fields beyond the medical, aerospace, and mold sectors. It is important to note that not all conventionally manufactured parts can be replaced by AM. The objective of this special issue is to collect recent research works focused on recent trends in AM. It includes four papers covering the following topics: • Metal-based powder bed fusion using a laser beam (PBF-LB/M) • Wire and arc-based AM (DED-Arc/W) • Material extrusion (MEX) This issue is expected to help readers understand the recent trends in AM, leading in turn to further research on AM. We deeply appreciate the contributions of all authors and thank the reviewers for their incisive efforts.