The current study proposes the use of innovative additive manufacturing to produce metallic plate elements with predefined wave patterns capable of postponing instability via the lowest buckling mode thus providing increased buckling resistances. Two plate boundary conditions - internal and outstand elements were considered and tested by employing square hollow section (SHS) and equal angle section (EAS) stub columns, respectively. An experimental testing programme comprising tensile coupon tests and stub column tests on flat-faced SHS and EAS has been carried out and used to validate numerical models. This was followed by a numerical parametric study exploring various combinations of pre-defined surface waves with different amplitudes in stainless steel plates of varying slenderness. Their relative stiffness, strength, and material consumption been assessed and the optimum wave patterns have been identified for each boundary conditions based on their structural efficiencies. The optimum geometric wave pattern has also been compared with and shown to outperform another two common stiffening methods based on the same material consumption. This innovative study highlights the significant potential of metallic additive manufacturing technologies in achieving unprecedented material efficiency and economic design in the future steel construction industry.