Accelerating the Additive Revolution

Abstract

The past year has seen accelerated growth and adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) by several measures, most notably in industrial adoption and implementation for materials intensive applications. Per the Wohlers Report 2016, the AM industry, consisting of all AM products and services worldwide, grew 25.9% (CAGR) to a total of US$5.165 billion in 2015.1 Further, sales of AM systems for manufacturing metal parts grew at a year-on-year rate of 46.9% for the most recent data available.1 This is reflective of greater interest and acceptance of the industrial manufacturing community for AM as a standard technique.This acceptance is the product of over 25 years of intensive research and development. Two early works of note include the first paper describing powder bed fusion AM in JOM in 1990, 2 in this case a polymeric wax and ABS materials. Similarly, the first description of using powder bed fusion AM for metals in Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A appeared in 1993, 3 in this case using intermetallic nickel-tin powder. Comparison of these early papers to recently published work 4 documenting fatigue evaluation of Ti-6Al-4V and nickel alloy 625, produced using commercially available powders and commercially available equipment, shows the progress that the materials processing community has driven and which serves as the foundation for accelerating growth in applications.The bedrock for this growth is the deeper understanding of the entire value stream for producing AM parts. For metal part production in the traditional manufacturing paradigm, a foundry provides material specifications to original equipment manufacturers consisting of the raw feedstock specification, cast properties, and forged ingot properties as applicable. In the new AM paradigm, the process looks quite different on first review. However, on deeper evaluation, the metal additive process qualification route follows the standard material intensive manufacturing route with specific elements modified per the process itself. The supplied powder is certified to specification, a fixed process is qualified, mechanical and chemical properties of interest are measured for the specific application, and an ongoing monitor for compliance is established. Post-machining, thermal processing, and non-destructive inspection and testing protocols specific to performance requirements are implemented just as in a performanceintensive weldment or cast component application. A critical role for the minerals, metals, and materials community is exploring and evaluating elements of the total process value stream and impacts on the microstructure and defect populations in relation to performance. Further, new characterization and non-destructive inspection methods tailored for complex AM-produced structures will be a key contribution by the community.The additive revolution is clearly accelerating, as evidenced by the growth in investment and industrial applications. As of this writing at the close of 2016, 40 CFM International LEAP-1A engines with AM-produced f...

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