When Michelangelo carved his masterpiece David from a massive marble block, he used a subtractive technique, chiselling fragments of stone away at the larger block to the form of his smaller creation.
Additive manufacturing works in the opposite way. Large structures are formed when layers are successively added to a foundation. It is like a hard fan coral growing in the sea. Over time, the form emerges to its full glory.
Additive manufacturing can be performed using plastic wire or metal wire, which are molten in the precise location that they are required. As they cool and resolidify, the rigid structure under construction is formed. The process can also be performed by using the heat of a laser to melt and fuse metal powders. Additive manufacturing using this laser powder bed fusion technique could not happen without industrial gases. They are integral to the process at many touchpoints.
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