The post process included hot isostatic pressing at 1180 \({}^{\circ}\)C under 21755.7 psi for 3 h and heat treated at 650 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 8 h. The heat-treated samples show clear distinct borders between microstructures of fine- and coarse-grained regions along with an increase in carbide density contributing to the hardness improvement. While the study proved that the achieved properties of IN718 are promising, post-process treatments are not ideal as they add to the overall time and cost of creating parts [38]. Support structures also play a significant role in the microstructure, composition, as well as the mechanical properties of LPBF-fabricated IN718. [PERSON] et al. [39] reviewed a total of 57 publications over the state-of-the-art research in the AM support structure area, but only found eight works [40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47] on the topic of support structure in metal LPBF. Low accessibility to metal 3D printers compared to polymer-based printers and higher expenses could be counted as the main reasons for such limited work on this topic. According to the literature, the role of adding support structures in LPBF falls into three different categories, which include cooling the part through heat conduction, reducing the risk of warpage during fabrication, and manufacturing cost reduction. They have been appropriately discussed by the articles in the literature as follows: (1) conducting the heat away from the part: the support structure can change the pattern of energy conduction from the molten pool to the building plate which can provide a stable thermal condition and thereby reduce the residual stresses within the sample [48]. For LPBF-fabricated parts, this effect has been investigated for the \"overhang\" state. [PERSON] et al. [49] studied the fatigue strengths of 45-degree overhanging arms additively manufactured with and without supports using Co-Cr-Mo powder. They observed that the fatigue strength was more than twice for the supported samples because of finer grains found in the microstructure as well as less defects and microcracks in the fracture surfaces of the supported samples. Moreover, lower residual strain was observed for the supported samples compared to unsupported ones. [PERSON] et al. [50] performed thermal simulations on overhanging features when supported with powder versus a solid layer underneath. They reported that printing a part above a solid material would result in a lesser thermal gradient within the part, thus reducing the resultant residual stress. They attributed this observation to the lower thermal conductivity of the AlSi10 Mg powder, which was about 8 W/mK compared to that of around 90 W/mK for a solid phase of AlSi10 Mg. However, the study was specific to a particular overhang design and did not consider microstructure variations at areas of the overhang supported by powder and that of as-fabricated parts. Moreover, post-processing operations can be time-consuming and more complex as the solid material should be removed from the main part. Therefore, minimizing the volume of the support structure plays an important role in the improvement of the efficiency of the fabrication process; (2) Preventing in-process failure: optimum support structures can reduce or even eliminate warping and distortion in LPBF-fabricated parts. [PERSON] et al. [51] observed a reduced level of warping with a higher concentration of supports near the edges, where laser scanning starts and ends. According to [PERSON] et al. [52], however, the higher concentration of supports is associated with longer build time, along with difficulty in support removal, which might require further consideration. In a study conducted by [PERSON] et al. [53], it was revealed that a relatively low support concentration may lead to in-process failure due to the higher chance of particle clustering formation in the initial layers of the part, which they attribute to the increased magnetic interactions between particles.