Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have emerged recently but have very quickly drawn a lot of attention thanks to their very attractive set of properties and attributes.
Their common feature is the build-up of objects by deposition of material layer upon layer, driven by a 3D computer model, thereby achieving near final shape (also known as near net shape [NNS]). The processes are the ‘polar opposite’ of most other manufacturing methods which progressively remove material, such as machining.
All AM technologies applicable to metals can be used with stainless steels. Their advantages and limitations are described in this new leaflet produced by the ISSF
