Recent progress in additive manufacturing of bulk MAX phase components: A review

The MAX phases are a group of layered ternary, quaternary, or quinary compounds with characteristics of both metals and ceramics. Over recent decades, the synthesis of bulk MAX phase parts for wider engineering applications has gained increasing attention in aerospace, nuclear, and defence industries. The recent adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in MAX phase fabrication is a step forward in this field. This work overviews the recent progress in additive manufacturing (AM) of bulk MAX phases along with the achieved geometric features, microstructures, and properties after briefing the conventional powder sintering methods of fabricating MAX phase components. Critical challenges associated with these innovative AM-based methods, including, poor AM processability, low MAX phase purity, and insufficient geometric accuracy of the final parts, are also discussed. Accordingly, outlooks for the immediate future in this area are discussed based on the optimization of present fabrication routes and the potential of other AM technologies.