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3: AM Materials

  • Page ID
    46522
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    • 3.0: Introduction
      This page covers the progress in additive manufacturing technology over three decades, detailing the expanded range of engineering materials—polymers, metals, composites, and ceramics. While still limited compared to traditional manufacturing, the material options have notably increased. The chapter will explore key categories of these materials and the challenges in obtaining appropriate properties for AM, aiming to prevent material constraints from impacting product development teams.
    • 3.1: Polymer Materials
      This page provides an overview of engineered polymer materials in additive manufacturing (AM), covering thermoplastics and thermosets, their characteristics, processing methods, and market evolution. It highlights the application of laser-driven processes, discusses specific thermoplastic and elastomer materials, and compares their properties and challenges, particularly in prototyping and composite production.
    • 3.2: Metallic Materials
      This page provides an overview of engineered metallic materials for additive manufacturing (AM), detailing over 100 suitable alloys and their preparation methods. It discusses manufacturing processes for wires, foils, and powders, emphasizing the diverse techniques used and their impacts on material characteristics. The importance of powder size distribution (PSD) is highlighted, along with challenges in meeting production requirements and safety concerns.
    • 3.3: Metallic Materials Characteristics
      This page covers the learning objectives related to metallic materials in additive manufacturing (AM), focusing on aluminum, steel, titanium, nickel, and cobalt alloys. It details their properties, processing challenges, and specific applications, highlighting the importance of heat treatment and stress relief to prevent defects.
    • 3.4: Ceramics and Other Materials
      This page outlines learning objectives for engineered ceramic materials in additive manufacturing (AM), addressing processing challenges and detailing common AM processes like binder jetting and material jetting. It also explores other AM materials such as paper, concrete, and sand, highlighting innovative processing methods. The page emphasizes the rapid advancements in AM materials, especially ceramics and composites, and advocates for further industrialization in these fields.
    • 3.5: Summary
      This page highlights the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for innovation with various materials, including polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites. Research is progressing on thermoplastics, thermosets, and alloys for improved performance in applications like heat exchangers and jet engines. Ceramics are underdeveloped due to fabrication challenges, but advancements in AM may expand material choices.
    • 3.6: Review Questions
      This page contains multiple-choice questions focused on powder particle size distribution and additive manufacturing processes. Key points include the interpretation of D90 as indicating 90% of powder particles measuring less than 100 microns, a description of atomization in creating spherical metal powders, and an identification of additive manufacturing techniques that use metal powders, specifically PBF, BJP, DED, and cold spray.
    • 3.7: Key Terms
      This page provides a glossary of polymer and metallic materials, detailing various types and their properties. It defines specific polymers (ABS, PE, PET, PLA) and key characteristics like glass transition temperature and viscosity. For metallic materials, it discusses processes such as annealing and heat treating, as well as structural types like austenitic and ferritic. Overall, it serves as a comprehensive reference for understanding the properties and processing of these materials.


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