Opportunities and challenges of quality engineering for additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as three-dimensional printing, is widely recognized as a disruptive technology, and it has the potential to fundamentally change the nature of future manufacturing. Through building products layer by layer, AM represents a paradigm shift in manufacturing, with many industrial applications. It enables production of huge varieties of customized products with considerable geometric complexity, extended capabilities, and functional performances. Despite tremendous enthusiasm AM faces major research challenges for widespread adoption of this innovative technology. Specifically, addressing the unique challenges associated with quality engineering of AM processes is crucial to the eventual success of AM. This article presents an overview of quality-related issues for AM processes and products, focusing on opportunities and challenges in quality inspection, monitoring, control, optimization, and transfer learning as well as on building quality into the product through design.