Additive manufacturing (AM) has recently gained much interest from researchers and industry practitioners due to the many advantages it offers as compared to the traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. These include the ability to fabricate net shaped complex geometries, integration of multiple parts, on-demand fabrication, and efficient raw material usage, among other benefits. Some of distinguishing features of AM metals, as compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing methods, include surface roughness, porosity and lack of fusion defects, residual stresses due to the thermal history of the part during the fabrication process, and anisotropy of the properties. Most components made of AM processes are subjected to cyclic loads, therefore, fatigue performance is an important consideration in their usage for safety critical applications. In addition, the state of stress at fatigue critical locations are often multiaxial. Considering the fact that many of the distinguishing features of AM metals are directional, the subject of multiaxial fatigue presents an important study area for a better understanding of their fatigue performance. This paper presents an overview of the aforementioned issues using recent data generated using AM Ti-6Al-4V and 17-4 PH stainless steel. Specimens were made by laser-based powder bed fusion and subjected to axial, torsion, and in-phase as well as out-of-phase loadings. A variety of conditions such as surface roughness, thermo-mechanical treatment, and notch effects are included. Many aspects are considered including damage mechanisms and crack paths, cyclic deformation, fatigue crack nucleation and growth, and stress concentration effects.
