In contrast to some conventional manufacturing processes, Additive
Manufacturing (AM) part properties can depend on structural and process parameters rather than purely on material properties. Complex interaction effects are created yielding highly anisotropic materials where
the anisotropy often varies both locally within parts and globally between apparently identical parts. Designers cannot rely on values from
static material databases anymore making the material selection process dynamic and complex. This is one of the main issues designers
face when creating optimized mechanical structures fabricated with
AM.