A comprehensive review of additive manufacturing of tantalum and its alloys: materials, processing and properties

Tantalum (Ta) and its alloys have recently gained significant recognition in both scientific research and industrial applications due to their exceptional properties, including high melting point, excellent biocompatibility, and superior corrosion resistance. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers unprecedented freedom in fabricating complex, high-performance Ta components with minimal material waste, making it a transformative approach for high-value applications. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in AM of Ta and Ta-based alloys, covering feedstock characteristics, process–structure–property relationships, and application-specific performance. Key aspects discussed include the influence of powder morphology and impurity content on AM quality, outlines processing window optimization strategies for high energy beam and kinetic-energy based techniques, that consistently yield near-fully dense components (>99.5%), and highlights post-processing methods to enhance mechanical properties, exemplified by HIP treatments that elevate the fatigue limit to ∼300 MPa. Special attention is given to the design of porous Ta architectures for biomedical implants, where AM enables patient-specific geometries with improved osseointegration. The review also surveys the development of Ta–W, Ta–Nb, and Ta–Ti alloy systems for high-temperature and biomedical applications. Remaining challenges and future perspectives in powder reuse, alloy design, and long-term implant performance are also outlined to guide further development in this rapidly evolving field.