Additive Manufacturing Processing of Glass Materials

Abstract

Glass materials are known for various desirable properties such as transparency, thermal durability, and chemical resistance, making them ideal materials for different applications. In recent decades, demonstrations of glass processing by additive manufacturing have been presented in research. Exploitation of the design freedom offered by additive manufacturing presents new opportunities for fabricating complex glass pieces, without the need for tooling, in a one-step process. There are many challenges that have been identified that must be overcome to allow effective glass processing by laser additive manufacturing techniques. This paper reviews some of the recent research outcomes in the field of glass additive manufacturing, with a focus on Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Directed Energy deposition.