Critical Thinking in the Application of Additive Manufacturing Processes: A Review

Abstract

Additive manufacturing is a rapidly growing fabrication process. However, the metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are not the best choice for all hardware. The various metal AM processes must be evaluated using critical thinking prior to selection for each and every part, just like all fabrication processes. This article introduces the metal AM processes and discusses the potential sources of failure that are currently known, or should be anticipated, for metal AM processed hardware. In addition, the article discusses the effect of the metal AM processes on the failure analysis process, as well as the effect of the metal AM processes on specific failure analysis steps. Lastly, this article discusses areas of consideration when using metal AM processes including design, metallurgy, production, quality, supplier management, and failure investigation, as well as providing some potential solutions.