Materials for Additive Manufacturing

Today, the term additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, covers numerous processes. For metallic materials, the laser-based processes powder bed fusion (Laser Powder Bed Fusion, LPBF) and with powder or wire feed nozzle (According to ISO/ASTM DIS 52926 Direct Energy Deposition - Laser Beam, DED-LB, also known as Laser Material Deposition, LMD) are the most important, which are also summarized as Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM). In both processes the material is completely melted and built up layer by layer to form a component. This tool-less manufacturing offers a high degree of individualization and (almost) unlimited design possibilities.