AM engineering guides
Practitioner-level articles on the formulas, databases, and trade-offs behind additive manufacturing. No fluff — straight to the math.
Finishing internal channels in AM parts: solving the access problem
Internal channels are additive manufacturing's hardest finishing problem — no line-of-sight tool can reach them. A practical guide to abrasive flow machining, electropolishing, Hirtisation, and the design rules that make internal finishing possible.
How to calculate the cost of a 3D-printed part (with formulas)
A bottom-up breakdown of AM part cost: machine hourly rate, material, labor, post-processing, and margin. Includes worked examples for LPBF metal and FDM polymer parts.
Carbon footprint of additive manufacturing: why every database disagrees
ecoinvent, IDEMAT, ICE (Bath), and GREET give different emission factors for the same metal powder. Here's why, which one to cite, and what it means for your LCA.
AM certifications guide: what's required, by industry
ISO/ASTM, AS9100D, NADCAP, FDA, CE — which additive manufacturing certifications you actually need, what they cover, and how to get them. Roadmap by company stage.
Free alternatives to Ansys Additive for early-stage AM design
Ansys Additive costs more than most startups spend on equipment. Here are the free and open tools — browser-based calculators, open-source simulators, and academic software — that cover 80 % of early-stage needs.
Design for Metal AM: the practical rules engineers actually need
Self-supporting angles, minimum wall thickness, internal channel geometry, support minimisation, and build orientation — the DfAM rules that matter for LPBF and EBM metal parts.
AM post-processing: the complete guide for metal parts
Support removal, stress relief, HIP, heat treatment, surface finishing, and inspection for LPBF and EBM metal parts. What each step does, when it's mandatory, and what it costs.
How to reduce the cost of 3D-printed metal parts: 8 engineering levers
Practical cost reduction for LPBF and SLS metal parts — build orientation, nesting, support minimisation, parameter tuning, batch strategy, topology optimisation, and when to switch process.
LPBF Parameter Development: From First Principles to a Stable Process Window
A systematic methodology for qualifying new alloys or machines in LPBF: VED as a first-order proxy, normalised enthalpy, LOF vs keyhole porosity regimes, and density measurement methods.
Powder Qualification for Metal AM: What the Metrics Actually Mean
A process engineer's guide to incoming powder qualification for metal AM: PSD, Hall flow, Hausner ratio, oxygen limits, and the recommended test sequence per batch.
Choosing the Right NDT Method for AM Parts
A decision framework for quality engineers: how AM microstructure creates unique NDT challenges, the six main methods with AM-specific notes, and when each applies.
Support Structure Design for Metal AM: Engineering the Removable Scaffold
How to design support structures for LPBF and EBM that are strong enough to hold the part but easy to remove — self-supporting angles, thermal supports, contact point density, and breakaway design.
Residual Stress in Metal AM: Why Parts Warp and What to Do About It
The thermal gradient mechanism, scan strategy effects, and practical mitigation options — stress relief annealing, HIP, build platform heating, and island scanning — explained for LPBF and DED engineers.
Topology Optimisation for AM: Beyond the Organic Shape
Why topology optimisation and AM are a natural pair — but why you can't just send the TO output to the printer. Overhang filtering, minimum feature size, and the practical workflow from load case to printable geometry.
Additive Manufacturing for Medical Devices: Material Selection, Biocompatibility, and Regulatory Pathway
From Ti-6Al-4V ELI to PEEK — material selection, porosity targets, surface finish requirements, and the ISO 13485/FDA design controls that govern implantable AM parts.
WAAM in Practice: Deposition Rates, Wire Selection, and Distortion Control
A process engineer's guide to wire + arc additive manufacturing: deposition rates vs. resolution trade-offs, wire alloy selection for steel, titanium, and aluminium, and how to manage the distortion that kills WAAM parts.
Post-processing for Polymer AM: SLS, MJF, and FDM Surface Finishing Guide
Depowdering, dyeing, vapour smoothing, painting, and coating — the complete post-processing menu for SLS, MJF, FDM, and SLA polymer parts, with process-specific guidance.
EBM vs LPBF: Which Powder Bed Metal Process Should You Choose?
A systematic comparison of electron beam melting and laser powder bed fusion across residual stress, microstructure, build atmosphere, material compatibility, and total cost — with a decision framework.
Metal AM Defects: Types, Causes, and How to Eliminate Them
LOF porosity, keyhole porosity, hot cracking, delamination, and surface balling — what each defect looks like, what causes it, and how to eliminate it through parameter optimisation or post-processing.
Binder Jetting for Metal Parts: Process Window, Shrinkage, and Economics
How metal binder jetting compares to LPBF for volume production — the debind/sinter shrinkage challenge, supported materials, and where the break-even point lies versus press-and-sinter or LPBF.
Additive Manufacturing for Automotive: From Tooling Jigs to Lightweighted Production Parts
Where AM creates genuine value in automotive — production tooling, spare-part logistics, motorsport structural parts, and the economic thresholds where series AM becomes competitive with die casting.
Conformal Cooling for AM Tooling: Design Rules, Channel Geometry, and Thermal Analysis
How to design conformal cooling channels in LPBF mould inserts — pitch-to-diameter ratios, channel cross-sections, baffle placement, and the thermal analysis shortcuts that avoid full FEA.
SLA and DLP: A Process Engineer's Guide to Vat Photopolymerisation
Cure depth physics, exposure parameters, resin selection for mechanical vs. optical vs. dental applications, and the support, wash, and post-cure workflow that determines final part properties.
Electron Beam Melting: Process Guide, Microstructure & Design Rules
How EBM differs from LPBF — vacuum environment, pre-heated powder bed, residual-stress-free builds, columnar microstructure in Ti-6Al-4V, and the design rules that follow.
Binder Jetting Sintering: Shrinkage, Distortion & Dimensional Control
The complete debind-and-sinter workflow after binder jetting — predicting 18–22% shrinkage, preventing gravity sag, achieving ±0.3% dimensional accuracy.
Heat Treatment of Additively Manufactured Titanium Alloys
Stress relief, annealing, STA, and HIP for LPBF and EBM Ti-6Al-4V — what each treatment does to the as-built martensite and when to choose each.
Cost Modelling for Additive Manufacturing: A Practical Framework
A five-driver cost model for AM parts — machine rate, material, labour, post-processing, overhead — with a worked Ti-6Al-4V LPBF bracket example and break-even analysis.
Directed Energy Deposition (DED): complete engineering guide
How laser powder DED and wire-arc DED work, when to choose them over LPBF, parameter envelopes, microstructure, applications in repair and large-format parts, and key qualification considerations.
Multi-material additive manufacturing: gradient structures and dissimilar alloy joining
How DED and binder jetting enable functionally graded and multi-material AM structures — alloy compatibility, interface design, current process options, and engineering applications.