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Scientific, technological and economic issues in metal printing and their solutions

Nature Materials volume 18, pages 1026–1032 (2019)Cite this article

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3D printing is now widely used in aerospace, healthcare, energy, automotive and other industries. Metal printing, in particular, is the fastest growing sector, yet its development presents scientific, technological and economic challenges that must be understood and addressed.

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Fig. 1: Current status of metal printing.

SciePro/Science Photo Library (hip joint implant); GE Aviation (fuel nozzle). Adapted from ref. 8, Springer Nature Ltd (hydraulic valve); and ref. 9, Springer Nature Ltd (gas turbine blades)

Fig. 2: Challenges in metal printing.
Fig. 3: Cost competitiveness of metal printing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    T. DebRoy & T. Mukherjee

  2. APEX3D LLC, Santa Fe, NM, USA

    J. O. Milewski

  3. Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA

    J. W. Elmer

  4. Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, IN, USA

    B. Ribic

  5. 3D Systems, State College, PA, USA

    J. J. Blecher

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    W. Zhang

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  1. T. DebRoy
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  2. T. Mukherjee
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  4. J. W. Elmer
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  6. J. J. Blecher
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  7. W. Zhang
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Correspondence to T. DebRoy.

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DebRoy, T., Mukherjee, T., Milewski, J.O. et al. Scientific, technological and economic issues in metal printing and their solutions. Nat. Mater. 18, 1026–1032 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-019-0408-2

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