Metal Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Biomedical Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, has emerged as a transformative technology, particularly in the aerospace and biomedical sectors. Metal additive manufacturing offers the ability to produce complex, high-performance components directly from digital designs, enabling greater design freedom, material efficiency, and functional optimization. Metal additive manufacturing (MAM) provides a unique opportunity to produce intricate, lightweight parts with optimized geometries essential for improving fuel efficiency, performance, and load-bearing capacities. By enabling the fabrication of components with tailored material properties, such as improved strength-to-weight ratios, MAM allows for significant enhancements in aircraft and spacecraft design. MAM has facilitated groundbreaking advancements in creating patient-specific implants, prosthetics, and medical devices. Technology allows for the customization of implants that precisely match patient anatomy, improving comfort, functionality, and biocompatibility.

This Research Topic focuses on the latest advancements, challenges, and future trends in metal additive manufacturing for aerospace and biomedical applications, with an emphasis on fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerating adoption in these critical fields. Understanding the relationship between MAM process parameters, microstructure, and mechanical properties is crucial for optimizing component performance in both aerospace and biomedical applications. This Research Topic will present research on in-situ process monitoring, post-processing methods to enhance material properties, and the use of computational tools, such as integrated computational materials engineering (ICME), to predict and control part properties. Furthermore, the convergence of MAM with technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and topology optimization will be explored, showcasing how these advances are driving further innovation in the design and production of metal components. By integrating these approaches, MAM can enable smarter, more efficient manufacturing processes across both industries.

We invite contributions that span academia and industry, focusing on multidisciplinary aspects of metal additive manufacturing in aerospace and biomedical contexts. Submissions may include experimental studies, case reports, theoretical analyses, and reviews of current trends, providing a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in MAM and encouraging the development of innovative solutions to existing challenges. While this special issue concentrates on metal materials, e.g., Ti alloys, Al alloys, Mg alloys, Iron and steel, etc., works on other relevant structural materials for aerospace and biomedical applications are nevertheless welcome.