Figure 1: Improving the properties of alloys produced using additive manufacturing.
a, When many industrially useful alloys are processed using additive manufacturing (3D printing), the resulting materials contain large cracks and columnar grains (as shown here for the aluminium alloy Al7075). This makes them unsuitable for engineering applications. b, Martin et al.2 attached nanoparticles to the surfaces of the granules in Al7075 powder. No cracking was observed when this powder was used as a feedstock for additive manufacturing, and the microstructure consisted of equiaxed particles (which have roughly equal widths, lengths and heights). Scale bars, 20 micrometres. (Images from ref. 2.)
