Page - (000010) - in 3D Printing of Metals

Metals 2017,7, 403 Mostof thepapers, includingthereviewpaper, targetedselective lasermelting, suggesting its popularityamongresearchers. Theresearch issuesaddressed in thesepapers includedthe following: a. Sheetmetal forming b. Effectofheat treatment c. Failureundercompression d. Porositydistribution,microstructureandhardness e. Formingdefectsasa functionofprocessingparameters f. Wearproperties g. Interrelationbetweenstructuresize,mechanical characteristicsandprocessdefect h. Interrelationbetweenagingbehaviorandmechanicalperformance. Theaboveindicatedresearchissuesbroadlyindicatethatresearchersare intheprocessof tailoring their processingparameters to control themicrostructure, includingprocess defects, so that their targetedpropertiesarenotcompromisedandremainsuitable for their targetedapplications. Targeted industrial sectorsmentionedin thesepapers includedthe following: a. Aerospacesector b. Biomedical sector c. Defense d. Automobile This suggests themaindriversof3Dprinting in the researchcommunity. ThepresentSpecial Issue, in general, is very informative as the nine articles cover a variety of topics and challenges and for differentmetallicmaterials (ferrous andnon-ferrous) covering four different types of 3D printingtechniquesandissuesrelatedtomicrostructure,processdefects,mechanicalpropertiesand heat treatments forawidespectrumofapplications. Finally, Iwould like to thankall theauthors for theirexcellentcontributionto this issue, to the reviewers formakingusefulcommentsandto theMetalseditorial staff for their timelypublicationof thesearticles. Conflictsof Interest:Theauthordeclaresnoconflictof interest. References 1. ASTM. Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies; F2792-12a; ASTM International: WestConshohocken,PA,USA,2015. 2. Guo,N.;Leu,M.Additivemanufacturing: Technology,applicationsandresearchneeds.Front.Mech. Eng. 2013,8, 215–243. [CrossRef] 3. Nickels,L.AMandaerospace:Anidealcombination.Met. PowderRep. 2015,70, 300–303. [CrossRef] 4. Schiller,G.J.Additivemanufacturing forAerospace. InProceedingsof the IEEEAerospaceConference, BigSky,MT,USA,7–14March2015. 5. Bose,S.;Vahabzadeh,S.;Bandyopadhyay,A.Bonetissueengineeringusing3Dprinting.Mater. Today2013, 16, 496–504. [CrossRef] 6. Ho,C.M.B.;Ng, S.H.; Yoon,Y.-J.A reviewon3Dprintedbioimplants. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 2015, 16, 1035–1046. [CrossRef] ©2017bytheauthor. LicenseeMDPI,Basel, Switzerland. Thisarticle isanopenaccess articledistributedunder the termsandconditionsof theCreativeCommonsAttribution (CCBY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 2