In numerical simulations where discrete particles are either used (3D printing) or generated through complex fracture events, particle methods are an attractive computational tool since they adequately accommodate the particle’s discreteness or emerging arbitrary discontinuities. Well-known frameworks are the Discrete Element Method (DEM), Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Peridynamics. Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods involve various complex, simultaneously active, multi-physical processes, making it difficult to predict the quality of printed products. AM processes are discrete in nature due to the local variations and layer-wise addition of particle-based material. In the first part of this presentation, a Discrete Element Method (DEM) is developed to simulate a laser powder bed AM process [1]. Distinct interactions are taken into account for particle and solid interactions,both mechanical and thermal. A couple of case studies are performed to demonstrate the capabilities of the numerical framework. The second part of this presentation focuses on a novel particle-based model, referred to as the Continuum Bond Method (CBM), which preserves the constitutive properties of continuum methods while inheriting the powerful fracture properties of discrete particle methods [2]. To illustrate the key properties of the model, two numerical examples are presented to reveal the achieved discrete-continuum consistency and its complex fracture capabilities. The particle-based CBM method is next extended to make it applicable to the micro-scale scratching of mono-crystalline silicon, where emphasis is put on the phase transformations [3]. The resulting LAMMPS-CBM scratch setup is used to assess the response from the underlying model that phenomenologically captures silicon phase transitions under contact and scratch conditions.