AM Process Selector

Universal

Not sure which AM process fits your part? Set your material, geometry, quantity, and priorities — the selector eliminates incompatible processes and scores the rest against what matters most to you.

Part requirements

Material family

Part volume estimate50 cm³

Bounding box of the finished part

Minimum feature size0.5 mm

Smallest wall, hole, or channel required

Annual production quantity20 parts / yr

Full-density structural metal required

Internal channels / lattice features required

Priorities

What matters most for this application?

Cost

Dimensional accuracy

Surface finish

Lead time

Production scalability

3 viable processes

scored by your priorities

Binder JettingBinder Jet

No laser — binder glues metal powder, then sintering densifies the part. Very high throughput; no support structures. Sintering shrinkage (~20%) must be compensated. ExOne, Desktop Metal, HP Metal Jet.

✓Accuracy comfortably within tolerance.
✓Volume (20/yr) fits process sweet spot (10–100000/yr).
✓Self-supporting — no support structures required.

Min feature: 0.3 mmAccuracy: ±0.3 mmLead time: 5dQty range: 10–100,000/yrSupport-free: ✓

Laser Powder Bed FusionLPBF / SLM

Best-in-class mechanical properties for metals. High residual stress; requires supports and stress relief. Dominant in aerospace, medical implants, tooling.

✓High machine/operating cost.
✓Accuracy comfortably within tolerance.
✓Fast lead time.
✓Volume (20/yr) fits process sweet spot (1–500/yr).

Min feature: 0.2 mmAccuracy: ±0.1 mmLead time: 3dQty range: 1–500/yr

Electron Beam MeltingEBM

Lower residual stress than LPBF (hot build chamber). Required for Ti-6Al-4V orthopaedic implants. Powder recycling is challenging. Larger minimum feature size.

✓High machine/operating cost.
✓Accuracy comfortably within tolerance.
✓Rough surface — post-machining likely required.
✓Volume (20/yr) fits process sweet spot (1–200/yr).
✓Self-supporting — no support structures required.

Min feature: 0.5 mmAccuracy: ±0.2 mmLead time: 5dQty range: 1–200/yrSupport-free: ✓

Sources

[1]Gibson, I., Rosen, D. & Stucker, B. — Additive Manufacturing Technologies (2nd ed.) — Springer, 2015
[2]Wohlers Associates — Wohlers Report 2024 (process benchmarks)
[3]Gebhardt, A. — Understanding Additive Manufacturing — Hanser, 2011

3 viable processes

Sources

Related tools