Innovative Materials For Additive Manufacturing

Memo

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has attracted substantial interest in recent times, promising a broad range of benefits and seeing real commercial development as well. Of all aspects of AM, however, the development and use of new materials is arguably the least well studied and the most in need of attention. This is critically important because the products we rely on every day are manufactured using a huge variety of specialty materials compositions. For example, a typical polymer part may contain pigments, plasticizers, toughening agents and reinforcement. Similarly, a metallic material may contain alloying elements for improved high temperature strength, corrosion and creep resistance, and a ceramic may contain dopants providing specific optical or dielectric properties. Currently, each new composition used in AM requires significant development. Likewise, while we have substantial freedom to alter the size and shape of parts, we have yet to gain an equivalent level of freedom to define materials properties and (multi)functionality within those parts, and we lack the tools necessary for simultaneous optimization of both.