Additive Manufacturing

What is Additive Manufacturing? Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined by ASTM as the “process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies, such as traditional machining. Synonyms: additive fabrication, additive processes, additive techniques, additive layer manufacturing, layer manufacturing and freeform fabrication”. The term additive manufacturing describes technologies which can be used anywhere throughout the product life cycle from pre-production (i.e. rapid prototyping) to full scale production (also known as rapid manufacturing) and even for tooling applications or post production customisation. Examples of AM are fused deposition modeling, stereolithography and laser sintering. Additive manufacturing (AM) can be defined as “the manufacture of end-use products using additive manufacturing techniques” or more broadly, the application of layer manufacturing techniques to fabricate end use products. Just three inputs are necessary for AM to take place; materials, energy and a CAD model. AM is an extremely new method of manufacturing, so much so that many of the processes are still unproven. Some of the most promising processes are adaptations of well established RP methods such as laser sintering (LS). However, due to the immaturity of AM itself, these techniques are still very much in their infancy. Advances in RP technology have brought about the ability to use materials that are appropriate for final manufacture. These advances in material use have brought about the prospects of directly manufacturing finished components, however, many obstacles still need to be overcome before AM can be considered as a realistic manufacturing choice. Source: Wikipedia