Metals by Micro‐Scale Additive Manufacturing: Comparison of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties |
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Authors: | Alain Reiser,Lukas Koch,Kathleen A. Dunn,Toshiki Matsuura,Futoshi Iwata,Ofer Fogel,Zvi Kotler,Nanjia Zhou,Kristin Charipar,Alberto Piqu ,Patrik Rohner,Dimos Poulikakos,Sanghyeon Lee,Seung Kwon Seol,Ivo Utke,Cathelijn van Nisselroy,Tomaso Zambelli,Jeffrey M. Wheeler,Ralph Spolenak |
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Affiliation: | Alain Reiser,Lukas Koch,Kathleen A. Dunn,Toshiki Matsuura,Futoshi Iwata,Ofer Fogel,Zvi Kotler,Nanjia Zhou,Kristin Charipar,Alberto Piqué,Patrik Rohner,Dimos Poulikakos,Sanghyeon Lee,Seung Kwon Seol,Ivo Utke,Cathelijn van Nisselroy,Tomaso Zambelli,Jeffrey M. Wheeler,Ralph Spolenak |
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Abstract: | Many emerging applications in microscale engineering rely on the fabrication of 3D architectures in inorganic materials. Small‐scale additive manufacturing (AM) aspires to provide flexible and facile access to these geometries. Yet, the synthesis of device‐grade inorganic materials is still a key challenge toward the implementation of AM in microfabrication. Here, a comprehensive overview of the microstructural and mechanical properties of metals fabricated by most state‐of‐the‐art AM methods that offer a spatial resolution ≤10 μm is presented. Standardized sets of samples are studied by cross‐sectional electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and microcompression. It is shown that current microscale AM techniques synthesize metals with a wide range of microstructures and elastic and plastic properties, including materials of dense and crystalline microstructure with excellent mechanical properties that compare well to those of thin‐film nanocrystalline materials. The large variation in materials' performance can be related to the individual microstructure, which in turn is coupled to the various physico‐chemical principles exploited by the different printing methods. The study provides practical guidelines for users of small‐scale additive methods and establishes a baseline for the future optimization of the properties of printed metallic objects—a significant step toward the potential establishment of AM techniques in microfabrication. |
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Keywords: | additive manufacturing 3D printing mechanical properties micro microstructure metals nano |
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