Seeing beneath the surface during metal additive manufacturing

When we watch a metal part being built by laser-based metal additive manufacturing (AM), we’re only seeing part of the story. In one kind of metal AM process, a high-powered laser sweeps across a bed of metal powder, creating a tiny pool of molten material—often a few human hairs wide. In a fraction of a second, the metal powder beneath the moving laser spot heats up, melts, flows and solidifies into continuous metal.