Additive manufacturing

This free course, Additive manufacturing, introduces you to its key concepts. It covers the fundamentals of the additive manufacturing (AM) process, the steps involved in creating a model and building an artefact, the materials and techniques used, as well as the design implications and the factors which affect the functionality of the finished parts.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Additive manufacturing: an overview
• 1 Additive manufacturing: an overview
• 1.1 History
• 1.2 Why is this course not called 3D printing?
• 2 Fundamentals of the process
• 2 Fundamentals of the process
• 2.1 Making shapes and structures
• 2.2 Why additive manufacturing?
• 2.3 Application of additive manufacturing
• 3 Creating a model and building an artefact
• 3 Creating a model and building an artefact
• 3.1 Computer-aided design model
• 3.2 Model produced by laser scanning
• 3.3 Model produced by computer-aided design
• 3.4 Machine positioning and control
• 3.5 Build
• 3.6 Final components
• 4 Materials and techniques
• 4 Materials and techniques
• 4.1 Polymer materials
• 4.2 Metallic materials
• 4.3 Other materials
• 5 Design implications
• 5 Design implications
• 5.1 Custom parts
• 6 Finished parts
• 6 Finished parts
• 6.1 Surface finish and feature quality
• 6.2 Microstructural properties
• 6.3 Residual stress
• Conclusion
• References
• Further reading
• Glossary
• Acknowledgements