Free engineering tools
Additive Manufacturing Tools
Use practical calculators and comparison tools to frame material, cost and process trade-offs before deeper engineering analysis.
Available tools
Materials
AM Material Comparison & Ashby Chart
Compare common metal AM materials using density, strength, cost and selectable engineering trade-offs. Use it for early screening—not final material release.
Economics
Additive Manufacturing Cost Calculator
Estimate the contribution of material, machine time, labor, energy, post-processing and inspection to part cost. Use scenarios to identify the dominant cost driver.
Qualification
AM Qualification Evidence Checklist (tool layer)
Move from “we printed it” to a release-ready evidence path. Use the printable Gates 0–7 one-pager in design reviews and supplier kickoffs, then mark feedstock → machine → process → post → NDT → part → production-control evidence in the static gate tracker. Full pass signals, red flags, and the ISO/ASTM · NASA standards map stay on the checklist article.
Research mapping only — not certification, not design allowables, not investment advice. Checking a box means evidence assembled for discussion, not “qualified.”
Process selection
Metal AM Process Selection Decision Tree
Constraint-first shortlist for LPBF, EBM, binder jetting, WAAM/DED, cold spray and conventional routes—before RFQs.
How to use the tools
- Define the application requirement and the conventional baseline.
- Use the material tool to eliminate poor-fit candidates.
- Use the cost calculator to test volume, build time, utilization and downstream assumptions.
- Run sensitivity cases instead of relying on a single output.
- Validate the result with supplier quotes, controlled material data and the real production route.
Research maps and guides
- Additive Manufacturing Research Hub
- Additive Manufacturing Bottleneck Map
- Metal AM Supply Chain Map
- Aerospace AM Qualification Guide
- AM Qualification Evidence Checklist: From Successful Print to Released Part
- Metal AM Process Selection Decision Tree
- Public AM Companies and Exposure Map
Important limitation
These tools are screening and learning aids. They do not certify a process, release a material, establish design allowables or replace supplier quotations and engineering judgment.