Materials‐Driven Additive Manufacturing for Electrical Machines: Qualification‐Oriented Design Beyond Geometric Freedom

Additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly presented as a route to more complex electrical machines (EMs), but its engineering value is not geometric freedom alone. This perspective argues that AM becomes relevant for EMs only when material state, interfaces, and property windows can be controlled well enough to support qualification‐relevant performance. The discussion therefore treats AM as a materials‐ and qualification‐driven design problem governed by process–structure–property–performance relationships. A materials‐oriented evidence maturity scale is used to distinguish conceptual or coupon‐level demonstrations from component‐level and qualification‐relevant evidence. Across soft magnetic materials, permanent magnets (PMs), conductors, insulation systems, and thermal management materials, the most credible AM opportunities are selective and architecture‐specific: segmented magnetic circuits, geometry‐adapted PM integration, high‐fill or cooled windings, and multifunctional thermal pathways. At the same time, defect populations, anisotropy, surface condition, bonding quality, dielectric integrity, and build‐to‐build scatter remain dominant barriers. The perspective identifies the evidence needed to move AM‐enabled EM components from laboratory demonstrations toward reproducible, scalable, and reliable engineering solutions.