Rapid Alloy Development Using AM: Advanced Materials Optimized for AM Processing and Applications

Rapid Alloy Development (RAD) is an approach for time- and cost-efficient development of alloys using Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes. Usually, the development of new alloys requires time-consuming and energy-intensive processes to produce small melts on a laboratory scale. Using these alloys, test specimens are produced by conventional manufacturing processes, which are then examined with regard to their properties (mechanical, physical, etc.). This process is repeated iteratively until an alloy composition has been determined which meets the required profile. It is possible to develop alloys more efficiently in terms of time and costs utilizing powder-based AM processes. The powder-based process is the key-enabler for RAD. At first, homogeneous blends of elementary powders are produced, which are then processed by means of AM processes, enabling the direct production of test specimens (cubes, tensile, lattice, etc.) from powder blends.