The Advent of Metal Additive Manufacturing Technologies - Alternative Options for Small Medium Enterprises

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3DPrinting, is being used in a wide variety of engineering applications given its numerous advantages. Among the numerous benefits, the timeframe for product development via the additive manufacturing approach is greatly shortened in contrast to traditional development process. Additive manufacturing technologies are therefore being increasingly considered by manufacturing firms as replacement for traditional processes for quick prototyping, tooling and spare parts manufacturing. This study aims to explore the latest development made in Metal Additive Manufacturing Technologies including alternative options which can be readily implemented by Small Medium Enterprises. This research paper also provides a brief overview on the consideration of fused filament fabrication technique based on material extrusion for metal 3D-Printing. Other indispensable processes in this technique, namely debinding and sintering processes are further discussed.