On the use of additive manufacturing for mechanical performance assessment of engineering materials: a review

The objective of this paper is to review the recent work in which Additive Manufacturing AM (3D printing) techniques are used in the mechanical characterization of several engineering materials, e.g., metallic, ceramic, composite and polymeric. The investigations adopted by several researchers are reviewed to demonstrate the applicability and validity of AM techniques in replicating the used complex specimens' geometry. The research concluded that additive manufacturing opens doors to solving many research questions and challenges and significantly improves the cost-effectiveness and time factor of the current standard and nonstandard tests. It can provide both the dimensional accuracy of specimens as well as producing accurate internal flaws or profiles that affect the performance of a material.