Additive Manufacturing

Let's explore additive manufacturing, well known as 3D printing. This new fabrication process is developing fast in industry. Today to produce plastic, it's what...

I propose to explore additive manufacturing or more commonly called 3D printing. This new production process is developing rapidly in the industry. Today it is possible to manufacture in plastic, this is what is most commonly presented for individuals but for industry there is also metal additive manufacturing. How does it work?


Unlike machining, which is a subtractive method that removes material to form a part, additive manufacturing starts from a virgin material and adds material. What is the interest of this methodology? First of all, it is possible to identify a gain in material because only the material necessary for the product is used, so there is little or no waste. Secondly, the shapes of the parts produced can be more complex because it is possible to build one part inside another. Finally, it is no longer necessary to have a wide range of tools, which considerably reduces the customer's bill. On the other hand, the design of the parts by CAD allows to propose functions equivalent to the traditional parts but much lighter. This is why this manufacturing process is particularly popular in the aerospace industry.


Technically, additive manufacturing can be carried out with different processes:


- Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) where the particles are heated by laser (DMLS) or electron beam (SML) to be melted and fused according to a precise path for each part. This method is used for polymers, steel, aluminium, nickel-based alloys, titanium, chrome-cobalt, inconel, hastelloy.

- Another method consists of melting metal and diffusing it through a nozzle in the form of overlapping strands. This is known as fused film deposition (FDM) and is the most widely used method to date. To operate, the machine must be supplied with hot melt materials.

- Nothing is closer to the droplet deposition technique than printing on paper in your printer. Wax or photopolymer materials are used for spraying.

- Sheet lamination consists of superimposing laser-cut sheets to obtain the desired shape. The sheets can be made of adhesive paper, metal or plastic.

- Vat light curing (SLA) or (DLP) consists of filling a vat with liquid resin which will harden when exposed to ultraviolet light. In this case only resins can be used.

- To work on more than one metal at the same time, it is interesting to turn to a technology called DED, which is similar to the deposition of powder or wire heated by laser or electrons. This process has the particularity of being coupled with a robotic arm allowing the addition of material on other planes than the horizontal plane. This technique is ideal for repairing parts and for creating material gradients. Use DED to work with nickel-based alloys or aluminium.

- Metal binder jetting (MBJ) is another way of working with metal by depositing layers of metal held together by a binder. Once the part has been formed, it must be sintered (heated) to achieve its final characteristics and to be used. For more details on MBJ technology you can read the article in the following link.


These additive technologies are not intended to replace conventional machining, but rather to complement it by combining techniques for even better results. It should be noted that the obstacles to these technologies lie in the cost of investment and the speed of production.
Among the most common uses of these additive technologies are: prototyping, manufacturing of industrial tools, customisation of products and small series of components.


Additive manufacturing is very present in the jewellery industry for customisation (with precious metals such as gold and silver), the automotive and aerospace industries for weight saving in vehicles (plastic polymers), and the medical sector with titanium (light, resistant and biocompatible).

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