Quo vadis, laser additive manufacturing?

The entire society has to face its global mega trends and grand societal challenges in a global world and economy. The single-stage process LMD uses laser radiation as a heat source to create a melt pool on the work piece surface. New products addressing adapted and customized specifications due to rapidly changed needs and demands require new manufacturing approaches that subsequently require a revolutionary thinking toward completely re-invented manufacturing chains and processes. The mechanical properties of the parts built-up are comparable to those that are conventionally manufactured mechanically by subtractive methods. Depending on the thermal history of the part built-up due to the layer-by-layer thermal manufacturing process, achieving proper mechanical properties can also be reliant on the appropriate post weld heat treatment in order to (re-)adjust the microstructure.