The use of metal matrix composites (MMCs) in a variety of products is significantly increasing with time due to the fact that their properties can be tailored and designed to suit specific applications. However, the future usage of MMC products is very much dependent on their beneficial aspects and hence it is critical to ensure in a robust repeatable manner the superior physical property advantages compared to conventional unreinforced monolithic metal counterparts. Although numerous routes are available for production of MMC products, each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. This article provides an overview of advanced production routes for MMCs. The discussion also highlights challenges and presents a future prospectus for MMCs. Powder metallurgy and casting routes are still extensively used for production of MMCs. Aluminum alloys are today the most commonly used matrix materials in MMC products. Carbides (eg, SiC, TiC, and B₄C), carbon allotropes (eg, CNTs and graphene), and alumina (Al₂O₃₎are currently the most used reinforcement materials. Nevertheless, the use of nano and of hybrid reinforcements are seeing increased usage in niche applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) is discussed as a novel production route for MMC products. This process represents a promising method for the production of MMC products.

Laser-Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) of metallic parts is a highly multivariate process. An understanding of powder feedstock properties is critical to ensure part quality. In this paper, a detailed examination of two commercial stainless steel 316L powders produced using the gas atomization process is presented. In particular, the effects of the powder properties (particle size and shape) on the powder rheology were examined. The results presented suggest that the powder properties strongly influence the powder rheology and are important factors in the selection of suitable powder for use in an additive manufacturing (AM) process. Both of the powders exhibited a strong correlation between the particle size and shape parameters and the powder rheology. Optical microscope images of melt pools of parts printed using the powders in an L-PBF machine are presented, which demonstrated further the significance of the powder morphology parameters on resulting part microstructures.