Research Progress of Materials Design for Metal Laser Additive Manufacturing

Laser additive manufacturing is widely recognized to be an effective method to form complicated and custom metallic components. The existing research on metal additive manufacturing utilizes traditional alloy grades, which are designed based on the assumption that solidification occurs at equilibrium; thus, these materials are not well suited to the nonequilibrium metallurgical dynamics that are present in additive manufacturing techniques. Common issues, such as high crack susceptibility, low toughness, and low fatigue capability, as well as anisotropy, frequently occur during the fabrication of additively manufactured metallic parts. It is therefore necessary to conduct research on the design of new materials designed specifically for laser additive manufacturing in order to fully realize the potential advantages and value of the ultrafast solidification conditions. In this article, the technical bottlenecks, material design methods, and the development of new materials that are applicable to laser additively manufactured metal materials are reviewed; these materials include aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, iron-based alloys, and magnesium alloys. Finally, the potential future direction of research related to laser metal additive manufacturing is discussed.