What Is Additive Manufacturing?
The ISO/ASTM 52900 terminology standard defines additive manufacturing (AM) as the process of joining materials to create parts from 3D model data. Usually, material is joined layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive and formative methods of manufacturing. Other terms for AM include 3D printing, additive fabrication, direct digital manufacturing, freeform fabrication, solid freeform fabrication, rapid manufacturing, and rapid prototyping. Models, prototypes, patterns, tooling, and production parts are all built with AM.
The parts are produced using 3D models created by computer-aided design (CAD) software, 3D scanning systems, medical imaging equipment, and even video games. Design and manufacturing organizations use AM parts for products in the consumer, industrial, medical, and military sectors, to name a few. Any industrial sector can benefit from adopting AM. Multiple aerospace waveguides consolidated into one metal 3D-pinted part, courtesy of Swissto12 As a tool for product development, AM can reduce time to market, improve product quality, and reduce costs.
Quick product iterations streamline and expedite the product development process. As a visualization tool, AM helps companies reduce the likelihood of delivering a flawed product. 3D-printed models allow companies to gain early feedback from management, experts, customers, and other stakeholders. AM is increasingly being used to produce final parts.
Companies benefit by being able to reduce inventory as AM can produce parts on-demand. Part consolidation, topology optimization, conformal cooling channels, and internal cellular or lattice structures are among the other advantages of AM for improving performance. A growing number of industrial sectors and geographic regions are adopting AM. Its impact is expected to continue to expand with the introduction of new types of AM machines, materials, applications, workflows, software products, and business models.
Additive manufacturing (AM) is the process of creating a physical model of a digital CAD 3D model by building up layers of material using a 3D printer. Compared with “3D printing,” AM is typically associated with industrial and manufacturing applications. With Creo, you can innovate faster, improve time to market, and reduce expense by using AM for prototypes, fixtures, and production parts. Design, optimize, and print with ease, all within the Creo design environment.
 as the process of joining materials to create parts from 3D model data. Usually, material is joined layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive and formative methods of manufacturing.){kind=link}