Volume 2, Issue 4 (2022) – 5 articles
Cover Picture: In metal additive manufacturing (AM), significant time is devoted to finding the optimal process parameters for fabrication of metal parts with minimal defects; even then, inconsistent part qualities may arise. This uncertainty remains a key roadblock for certification and standardization in the industry. In this paper, the current strategies in obtaining optimal process parameters are reviewed and analysed under a systematic framework (design of experiments and characterization, modelling and optimization algorithms). The scientific understanding of the mechanisms induced by process parameter selection are briefly discussed, followed by an elaboration on the optimal processing windows in AM, and finally an analysis of the strategies involved in parameter search. Practical and potential approaches are highlighted, research gaps are identified and the outlook on multi-objective optimization in AM is provided. With increasingly creative techniques employed in AM, densification need not always be the main objective for process parameter optimization.
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