What is Functionally-Graded Materials

Additive manufacturing (AM) opens up the possibility of a direct build-up of components with sophisticated internal features or overhangs that are difficult to manufacture by a single conventional method. As a cost-efficient, tool-free, and digital approach to manufacturing components with complex geometries, AM of metals offers many critical benefits to various sectors such as aerospace, medical, automotive, and energy compared to conventional manufacturing processes. Direct laser fabrication (DLF) uses pre-alloyed powder mix or in-situ alloying of the elemental powders for metal additive manufacturing with excellent chemical homogeneity. It, therefore, shows great promise to enable the production of complex engineering components. This technique allows the highest build rates of the AM techniques with no restrictions on deposit size/shape and the fabrication of graded and hybrid materials by simultaneously feeding different filler materials. The advantages and disadvantages of DLF on the fabrication of compositionally complex metallic alloys are discussed in the chapter.