About this Research Topic

Background

Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM) is revolutionizing industrial manufacturing by enabling the development of complex components with intricate features, lightweight properties, minimal material wastage, and the possibility of multi-material combinations. MAM employs both direct and indirect methodologies for manufacturing. Direct techniques use binders or low-melting-point polymers to join metallic particles, forming a green part that is subsequently post-processed to create the final component. On the other hand, direct MAM processes utilize high-energy sources such as lasers, electron beams, and arcs to melt material, building dense metallic components with minimal post-processing.

One of the primary questions addressed by the research community is whether MAM parts are as reliable and high-quality as conventional materials. Numerous research groups globally, from diverse backgrounds, are investigating this topic from various angles, including material characterization, process development, process monitoring, closed-loop control, post-processing, and more.

This research topic invites original research and high-quality review articles focusing on recent advances in MAM. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Development of process windows for achieving higher build quality in MAM.
2. Metallurgical and mechanical characterization of MAM components.
3. Investigation of process–structure–property–performance relationships in MAM parts.
4. Application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in MAM for process improvements.
5. In-situ monitoring and closed-loop control of the MAM process.
6. Quality control and material behaviour of functionally graded and multi-material components using MAM.
7. Quality control of MAM parts built using indirect processes such as fused deposition modelling, binder jetting, etc.
8. Post-processing for quality improvement of metal additive-manufactured components.
9. Quality control of metal additive-manufactured components for nuclear, aerospace, and automotive applications.
10. The effect of tool path planning on the quality of MAM components.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing, Metal Additive Manufacturing, Material behaviour, Characterization, Quality control, Process monitoring

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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