Additive Manufacturing Debate: A Thought Experiment

About the Author
Dr. Sanjay Kumar is the author of the following recent publications and visual presentations:

1. Additive Manufacturing does not solve staircase effect, 2026, YouTube @AdditiveManufacturingSKumar
2. How to convert AM (Additive Manufacturing) part into Hybrid AM part, 2026, YouTube @AdditiveManufacturingSKumar
3. How to Make Additive Manufacturing Classification Simple, 2026, Figshare, Media, 10.6084/m9.figshare.33831157
4. Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Debate, 2026, Scholarly Dialogues Press
5. A New H-index, 2025, Scholarly Dialogues Press
6. A Concise Encyclopedia of Additive Manufacturing, 2025, Springer
7. A New Theory of Additive Manufacturing, 2024, Springer

About the Book

The short book is presented in the form of dialogues between two researchers. They and their dialogues are invented. Their dialogues try to draw attention towards various aspects of additive manufacturing (AM), i.e., its organization, its shortcomings, and its various nuances as understood differently by laymen and different experts.

Two imaginary researchers, R1 and R2, start talking about hybrid additive manufacturing (AM). They wonder whether both AM and hybrid AM are the same. One says the definition has an inner contradiction; another defends it. One says the name of AM is not right; another shows a brighter picture. One argues that this name can have a negative implication on the education; the other questions the logic. Their discussion includes directed energy deposition, sheet lamination, powder bed fusion, other manufacturing techniques, pre-processing, and post-processing. One says sheet lamination is not AM; another shows how to make a product using sheet lamination. One says selective laser sintering should not be considered AM; another questions the way AM is getting compared with an established subject.