Additive Manufacturing (AM): New Materials Influence the Future

We are entering a golden era for 3D printable metal materials. This means manufacturers in many industries will be able to create things they never have before. Host Fabian Alefeld speaks with Dr. Ankit Saharan, Senior Manager of Metals Technology at EOS. Today’s discussion focuses on the past, the present, and the future of metal additive manufacturing (AM) materials. The future takes center stage because a new class of 3D printable superalloys, Metal Matrix Composites (MMC), high entropy alloy, and pure metals will enable incredible new applications for the space industry, semiconductor industry, electronics industry, and many other verticals. Ankit explains what MMCs or high entropy alloys are and what they mean in terms of exciting new applications.

The Additive Snack Podcast is brought to you by EOS.

Key Takeaways:

[1:27] Ankit shares the history of additive manufacturing using metals and how it unlocked future potential.

[6:42] How AM evolved from a centering process into a serial production technology.

[9:31] When developing custom projects with new materials initial resistance will be a challenge.

[15:56] Metal Matrix Composite and High-entropy alloys: What they are, the benefits, and what they mean for the future of additive manufacturing.

[22:28] Choosing one material or a process over another comes down to performance over substitution.

[26:01] Artificial intelligence and new materials escalate the future of AM.

Shareables:

“Materials and processes go hand-in-hand. No matter how much you try to separate them, they always go hand in hand.”— Ankit Saharan, Senior Manager of Metal Technology, EOS, on The Additive Snack Podcast

“We've got much better tools at our disposal like machine learning, artificial intelligence that we've never had before. It enables us to not only iterate faster in terms of material composition but also be able to predict what they are going to give us before we even make these materials physically.”— Ankit Saharan, Senior Manager of Metal Technology, EOS, on the Additive Snack Podcast

“We are reaching a tipping point in additive manufacturing. AM can not be removed out of the supply chain anymore because it produces components that can not be produced with any conventional manufacturing technology anymore.” —Fabian Alefeld, EOS and Host of the Additive Snack Podcast