Recent progress and perspectives in additive manufacturing of magnesium alloys

Abstract

Magnesium alloys remain critical in the context of light-weighting and advanced devices. The increased utilisation of magnesium (Mg) each year reveals growing demand for its Mg-based alloys. Additive manufacturing (AM) provides the possibility to directly manufacture components in net-shape, providing new possibilities and applications for the use of Mg-alloys, and new prospects in the utilisation of novel physical structures made possible from ‘3D printing’. The review herein seeks to holistically explore the additive manufacturing of Mg-alloys to date, including a synopsis of processes used and properties measured (with a comparison to conventionally prepared Mg-alloys). The challenges and possibilities of AM Mg-alloys are critically elaborated for the field of mechanical metallurgy.