Recapitulation on Laser Melting of Ceramics and Glass-Ceramics

Additive manufacturing of ceramics and glass-ceramics is becoming important due to demands for high-performance applications and requirement for customizations. This is also due to the high cost incurred by conventional methods for producing prototypes and functional end parts of such inorganic materials. Despite the advantages that are already evident for direct laser melting of metals, in-process challenges such as thermal stress induced cracks and laser-material interactions have slowed down the progress and adoption of direct laser melting for these inorganic and non-metallic materials. Nevertheless, several works have been carried out to improve the process of direct laser melting of ceramics and glass ceramics despite the various challenges posed. In this article, we recapitulate past studies and update the progress on the additive manufacturing of ceramics and glass ceramics in particular by direct laser melting. In addition, we discuss the relevance of laser melting of ceramics and glass-ceramics for future roadmap.Mechanical Engineerin