Emerging Materials in Additive Manufacturing Literature Review

Paper Title: Emerging Materials in Additive
Manufacturing
Literature Review
Student’s Names
Course
University
Abstract
Additive Manufacturing has grown into one big production industry that uses complex
shaped materials used in many fields. AM is using various materials such as composites,
polymers, ceramics and metals as its commercially available raw products for the design
process. However, composites and ceramics still are under development and research
improvement. In this paper, there is a comprehensive review of the literature within the
AM technological designs as well as the study of used materials. The ceramic matrix,
polymer matrix, fibre reinforced matrix and metal matrix pieces of literature are reviewed
since they are the most common material matrices being used in this technology. The
paper also constitutes a number of AM applications on various classified materials by
having a look into the different industrial objectives, the importance of the application,
results from designs and processing together with future advantages, challenges and
work.
Keywords: Polymer matrix, Ceramic matrix, Additive Manufacturing, Metal Matrix,
Composite Matrix
1. Introduction
The 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing is a developed field aimed at supporting
designers and engineers in their endeavours when product-process designing for physical
checking on assumptions [1]. To begin with, the AM technology was first developed in
the 1980s for prototype and model production. Its principle lies in manufacturing through
layer-by-layer that starts with designing a 3D object using CAD and later slicing an STL
layer format using a software [2]. Some of the main advantages that the AM process
possess are cost and time reduction, testing capabilities of the product’s life cycle and
human interaction capability. The technology has been pushed too fast technological
improvement by the patent expired and growing demand effects. Thereby, bringing in
numerous AM solutions and manufacturers. Lately, the Am solutions demand is growing
at a very high rate since the discovery of newer materials. Also, its areas of interest
becoming dynamic. For example, the AM technology can be used in automotive
industries, architecture, aeronautics, food, fashion, jewellery, robotics, toys and
pharmaceuticals as in table 1 [3].

Table 1 below shows the different areas of applying AM.
Sectors Application
Medical Developing surgical models that are used
in surgical operations, bridges, dental
fixtures and crowns, custom patient-
specific prostheses and implants
Industry Fixtures, jigs, aero-nautical end-use
industrial parts and automotive spare parts
and prototypes
Food 3D printing and designing of complex-
shaped cookies, pizzas, cakes, candies and
other desserts.
Pharmaceutical Custom drug delivery implants, capsules
and tablets.
Household Cups, plates, holders and spoons.
Fashion Clothes, jewellery and shoes.
Miscellaneous Chemical industrially fabricated complex
compounds and molecules, special built
parts and prototypes in space and scaled
construction models having intricate
architectures.
Through AM technology, there exists a possibility of producing complex shapes as opposed to
classical manufacturing that experience difficulty. Various complex structures and used multi-
materials allow dynamic and static functionalities hence enabling thermal, electrical and
mechanical applications.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Metal Alloys and Matrices
A Metal Matrix Composite is a composite with a ductile metal in its matrix phase [4]. There
exists thermal stability as well as ductility in the composite meal matrix during elevated
temperatures. Additionally, the fibre helps in increasing the stiffness, strength, enhances abrasion
or creep resistance and increase the thermal conductivity. The alloys of aluminium and
aluminium itself, magnesium and titanium are the most used metals in the MMC development as
seen in table 2 [4].
Table 2 below show metallic alloy multi-components used in fabrication.
Alloys Process Type of Laser Composition Property
Ti-based DMD 6kW CO2 laser Ti-6AI-4V About 1045 MPa
tensile strength,
about 1105MPa
yield strength
and about 10.5
ductilities.
Ti-based LMD Nd: YAG lasers Ti-6AI-4V About 1100 MPa

yield strength
and about 1211
MPa tensile
strength
Fe-based LM Fibre laser Inox 904L
stainless steel
A 20 by 20 by 5
mm was
fabricated at 140
micrometres
thick
Fe-based LS CO2 laser High-speed steel Successful
fabrication with
88.2% maximum
density
One effective manufacturing process involves the use of Laser Additives in manufacturing [5].
This technology depends on deriving the peak temperature and cooling rates during the
simulation. The AISI 1030 carbonated steel which is coated with Fe-TiC composites is used in
studying values for the parametric effects in processes for the TiC microstructure and
morphology. There are investigations on the cooling rate whereby cooling rates affect the
microstructure and morphology since the solute material rejection to the melted Fe become
retarded during a cooling rate that is more than 1500K/S. the peak power effect on densities of 2
particle sizes, AL-12Si S20 and AI-12Si S10 is shown in figure 1 and figure 2 below [6].
Figure 1 above shows the peak power effect on densities