Various structural alloys including steel, titanium and nickel-based can be produced using the SLM process with comparable or often superior mechanical performance to traditional forming methods which can drive the additive technology adoption forward together with rising interests from major manufacturing sectors including aerospace, marine, military, biomedical and automotive industries. The case study aimed to illustrate the benefits of utilizing the design flexibility to widen the choice of materials for producing existing industrial components through AM technology adoption. It also demonstrated that the use of AM could shorten the waiting time for part fabrication through on demand printing as compared to conventional methods which was particularly useful, but not limited, to military operations.
