Artificial Intelligence in Metal Additive Manufacturing: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Developments

Artificial Intelligence in Metal Additive Manufacturing: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Developments.
Duc-Anh Nguyen*, Bui Truong Giang Le*, Van Anh Nguyen, Minh Tuan Vu, Manh Ha Bui, Minh Thanh Le, Trong Duc Nguyen, Tien Dung Hoang, Xuan Hai Le
Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (Q1), Impact Factor: 7.4, 2025. link

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a pivotal technology for advancing Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM), a process that enables the fabrication of geometrically complex and customized metallic components. In the context of Industry 4.0, AI has become a transformative force, offering powerful tools for data-driven optimization, defect detection, process control, and property prediction in MAM. While numerous studies and review papers have explored AI applications in specific MAM techniques—such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) or Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM)—few have provided a comprehensive and balanced evaluation across the broader MAM landscape. Additionally, Existing reviews often focus narrowly on individual processes or AI methods, lacking a unifying perspective to assess the field holistically. To address this gap, we introduce a novel, end-to-end AI-enhanced MAM lifecycle framework (Design → Build → Post-processing → End-of-life) as the foundation for a systematic analysis. Using this framework, we move beyond descriptive summaries to deliver a critical synthesis of current progress, highlighting persistent challenges, including data quality and availability, model interpretability, generalizability across materials and processes, and integration of domain knowledge. For each challenge, we highlight potential solutions, such as the use of physics-informed learning models and adaptive control frameworks. Finally, we propose a roadmap for future developments toward autonomous, intelligent, scalable and real-time MAM systems. This work serves as a foundation for researchers seeking to advance the integration of AI into MAM.

Recommended citation: Duc-Anh Nguyen*, Bui Truong Giang Le*, Van Anh Nguyen, Minh Tuan Vu, Manh Ha Bui, Minh Thanh Le, Trong Duc Nguyen, Tien Dung Hoang, Xuan Hai Le. (2025). "Artificial Intelligence in Metal Additive Manufacturing: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Developments." Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing
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