NIST Report on Metal Powder Additive Manufacturing

The National Institute of Standards and Technology says powder bed fusion of metal parts suffer from performance and reliability issues and that dimensional and form errors, voids in fused layers and poorly understood material properties are holding back acceptance of the process among manufacturers. As result, NIST researchers have written a report they hope will ultimately help prevent or correct such issues. The report is an attempt to put together information on the intricacies of powder bed fusion and the more than 50 factors they say influence the melting process alone. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/58276/nist-powder-bed-report/


Below is a look at the powder bed printing process:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...eport-Lane.jpg