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Additive Manufacturing Technology

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a term used to describe the full process chain involved in selectively adding material and generating geometries in 3 dimensions. AM is often referred to as 3D printing for this reason.

The American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) created the current categorisation of the different types of AM technology. Below we have a list, graphic and some details of the 7 main techniques for AM.

We have also allocated an AMS AM readiness level which is our opinion on where we feel the technique is currently at with respect to:

Material availability.
Scalability.
Complexity.
Material readiness level.
Productivity.
Capability to be a step change in manufacturing.

AMS' AM readiness level is set to the following: 1= R&D, 5=full industrial and production readiness. If you would like a download of all of the below, you can find the link here or at the bottom of this page.

A process in which a liquid bonding agent is selectively deposited to join powder materials.

AKA
Solid freeform fabrication (SFF)

Materials
Metals, ceramics and polymers

Applications
Prototyping, tooling, sand casting, art and functional parts

AM readiness level
3-4

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Type 1: A process in which focused thermal energy is used to fuse materials by melting as they are being deposited.
Focused thermal energy means that an energy source (e.g., laser, electron beam, or plasma arc) is focused to melt the materials being deposited.

AKA
DED, laser cladding, laser additive manufacturing (LAM), Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), Laser metal deposition (LMD)

Materials
Metals and polymers

Applications
Repairing, prototyping, tooling, functional parts

AM readiness level
Between 2-4, use dependant

Type 2: A process in which kinetic energy is used to fuse materials as they are being deposited.

AKA
DED, Blown powder, Friction stir welding (FSW)

Materials
Metals and polymers

Applications
Repairing, prototyping, tooling, functional parts

AM readiness level
Between 2-3, use dependant

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A process in which material is selectively dispensed through a nozzle or orifice.

AKA
Fused deposition modelling (FDM), fused filament fabrication (FFF)

Materials
Bound metals, bound ceramics and polymers

Applications
Prototyping, tooling, art, functional parts

AM readiness level
5
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A process in which droplets of build material are selectively deposited.

AKA
Multi-jet modelling (MJM), polyjet printing.

Materials
Polymers

Applications
Prototyping, art, tooling and functional parts

AM readiness level
5
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A process in which thermal energy selectively fuses regions of a powder bed.

AKA
Selective laser sintering, selective laser melting (SLM), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), electron beam melting (EBM)

Materials
Metals

Applications
Prototyping, tooling, art and functional parts

AM readiness level
5
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A process in which sheets of material are bonded to form an object.

AKA
Sheet metal additive manufacturing (SMM), laminated object manufacturing (LOM)

Materials
Metals, polymers and papers

Applications
Prototyping, art and functional parts

AM readiness level
2
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An additive manufacturing process in which liquid photopolymer in a vat is selectively cured by light-activated polymerisation.

AKA
Stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), continuous liquid interface production (CLIP)

Materials
Polymers, resins.

Applications
Prototyping, art and functional parts

AM readiness level
5
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