N. A. Tarasov, O. H. Khamula, N. V. Soroka

Printing and Publishing • 2023

Fuxin Wang, Zhixing Zhang, Yuhao Mu et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the literature on 3D printing for osteochondral repair and regeneration, aiming to explore the current research landscape, key emerging topics, and future trends in this field. English-language publications on 3D printing technology and osteochondral repair, published between 2010 and 2024, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The search, conducted on May 1, 2024, followed a structured strategy. Bibliometric analysis was performed on 287 scholarly articles using the Bibliometrix package in R, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. The study demonstrates a steady increase in global research activity, as reflected by the rising annual and cumulative publication rates in this field. China and the United States dominate in international collaboration, publication output, and funding investment. Collaborative networks between authors, institutions, and countries have played a pivotal role in advancing the development of 3D printing technology for osteochondral repair. The journal Biofabrication serves as the leading platform for disseminating research findings. Wu Chengtie is identified as the most prolific author, with “mesenchymal stem cell” emerging as the most prominent keyword. Research to date has focused on various types of mesenchymal stem cells, 3D printing technologies, and osteogenic differentiation, while future studies are anticipated to prioritize growth factor delivery, 3D bioprinting, and interface tissue engineering. This analysis highlights the advantages, limitations, and future prospects of osteochondral repair, a field at the intersection of medicine and engineering. The findings provide valuable insights to guide researchers in further advancing this rapidly emerging area.

Unknown Author

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Vladimir Vukašinović, Dušan Gordić, Vanja Šušteršič et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Unknown Author

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Unknown Author

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

Alice Shannon, Aidan O'Sullivan, Kevin J. O'Sullivan et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Polymers are widely used in healthcare due to their biocompatibility and mechanical properties; however, the use of polymers in medical products can promote biofilm formation, which can be a source of hospital-acquired infections. Due to this, there is a rising demand for inherently antimicrobial polymers for devices in contact with patients. 3D printing as a manufacturing technology has increased exponentially in recent years. Surgical guides, orthotics, and prosthetics, among other medical devices, created by vat polymerization have been used in hospitals to treat patients. Biocompatible resins are available for these applications, but there is a lack of antimicrobial resins, which would further improve the technology for clinical use. The focus of this study was to assess settling of candidate antimicrobial metal and metal oxide fillers in vat polymerization resin to determine which fillers were compatible with the resin. Dispersion stability was assessed by measuring settling over the maximum print duration of the medium priced desktop 3D printers to evaluate printability of 17 potentially antimicrobial resins. Eight materials displayed settling behavior during the test period: molybdenum oxide, zirconium oxide nanopowder, scandium oxide, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, tungsten oxide, lanthanum oxide, and magnesium oxide. No settling was observed for manganese oxide, magnesium oxide nanopowder, titanium oxide nanopowder, copper oxide, silver oxide, zinc oxide nanopowder, zinc oxide, silver nanopowder, and gold nanopowder during the test period. This method could be applied to assess settling of other fillers introduced into 3D printing resins before actual printing.

Benjamin Dillenburger

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

E Bertin, C Coussens, E Brumpt et al.

3D Printing in Medicine • 2025

The consequences of maxillofacial injuries are functionals and aesthetics. The initial treatment must lead to consolidation without any sequelae (complete healing with no clinical symptoms). 3D printing is increasingly used in maxillofacial surgery, but data on its use in the initial phase of trauma is scarce.

Thais Sousa, Nilabh Kajave, Pengfei Dong et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

Freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH) is a layer-by-layer extrusion-based technique to enable three-dimensional (3D) printing of soft tissue constructs by using a thermo-reversible gelatin support bath. Suboptimal resolution of extrusion-based printing limits its use for the creation of microscopic features in the 3D construct. These microscopic features (e.g., pore size) are known to have a profound effect on cell migration, cell–cell interaction, proliferation, and differentiation. In a recent study, FRESH-based 3D printing was combined with freeze-casting in the Freeze-FRESH (FF) method, which yielded alginate constructs with hierarchical porosity. However, use of the FF approach allowed little control of micropore size in the printed alginate constructs. Herein, the FF methodology was optimized for 3D printing of collagen constructs with greater control of microporosity. Modifications to the FF method entailed melting of the FRESH bath before freezing to allow more efficient heat transport, achieve greater control on microporosity, and permit polymerization of collagen molecules to enable 3D printing of stable microporous collagen constructs. The effects of different freezing temperatures on microporosity and physical properties of the 3D-printed collagen constructs were assessed. In addition, finite element (FE) models were generated to predict the mechanical properties of the microporous constructs. Further, the impact of different micropore sizes on cellular response was evaluated. Results showed that the microporosity of 3D-printed collagen constructs can be tailored by customizing the FF approach. Compressive modulus of microporous constructs was significantly lower than the non-porous control, and the FE model verified these findings. Constructs with larger micropore size were more stable and showed significantly greater cell infiltration and metabolic activity. Together, these results suggest that the FF method can be customized to guide the design of 3D-printed microporous collagen constructs.

Oxana Tseytlin, Ryan O'Connell, Vignesh Sivashankar et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2021

Oxygen plays a critical role in the photopolymerization process resulting in the formation of solid structures from liquid resins during three-dimensional (3D) printing: it acts as a polymerization inhibitor. Upon exposure to light, oxygen is depleted. As a result, the polymerization process becomes activated. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging is described as a tool to visualize changes in oxygen distribution caused by light exposure. This nondestructive method uses radio waves and, therefore, is not constrained by optical opacity offering greater penetrating depth. Three proof-of-principle imaging experiments were demonstrated: (1) spatial propagation of the photopolymerization process; (2) oxygen depletion as a result of postcuring; and (3) oxygen visualization in a 3D printed spiral model. Commercial stereolithography (SLA) resin was used in these experiments. Lithium octa-n-butoxynaphthalocyanine (LiNc-BuO) probe was mixed with the resin to permit oxygen imaging. Li-naphthalocyanine probes are routinely used in various EPR applications because of their long-term stability and high functional sensitivity to oxygen. In this study, we demonstrate that EPR imaging has the potential to become a powerful visualization tool in the development of 3D printing technology, including bioprinting and tissue engineering.

Athina Papadopoulou

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

Aamer Nazir, Min-Chih Liao, Yan-Wei Zhu et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

Environmental protection and sustainability have been a serious challenge due to the excess amount of waste plastic, and the inefficient methods of its disposal. This study aims at exploring the feasibility of using plastic material in asphalt concrete followed by the design and evaluation of modified asphalt mix. Four different types of asphalt mixtures were made by mixing mineral aggregates with plastic aggregates of different shapes and sizes. The conventional dense-graded asphalt concrete incorporating mineral aggregates was selected as control material, whereas the other three types of asphalt mixtures were produced by substituting 3D-printed plastic aggregates for mineral aggregates. Marshall characteristics were utilized to evaluate the volumetric and mechanical properties of the asphalt mixtures. Test results show that the asphalt mixture containing solid plastic aggregate appears to have a 14.3% reduction in bulk density, thereby potentially reducing the haul costs. Due to the angular shape of the aggregate, the stability for the asphalt mixture containing the 3D-printed aggregate is 1.95 times higher than that for the asphalt mixture incorporating all mineral aggregates. The addition of the plastic printed aggregate enhances the strain capacity to achieve failure of the asphalt mixture. However, caution should be taken when incorporating the hollow or fine printed aggregates into the asphalt mixture due to their variation of volumetric properties.

Shubham Singh, Mohit Kumar, Devesh Kumar et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Haemin Lee, JongHoo Park, Brian Byunghyun Kang et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Single-step 3D printing, which can manufacture complicated designs without assembly, has the potential to completely change our design perspective, and how 3D printing products, rather than printing static components, ready-to-use movable mechanisms become a reality. Existing 3D printing solutions are challenged by precision limitations, and cannot directly produce tightly mated moving surfaces. Therefore, joints must be designed with a sufficient gap between the components, resulting in joints and other mechanisms with imprecise motion. In this study, we propose a bio-inspired printable joint and apply it to a Single sTep 3D-printed Prosthetic hand (ST3P hand). We simulate the anatomical structure of the human finger joint and implement a cam effect that changed the distance between the contact surfaces through the elastic bending of the ligaments as the joint flexed. This bio-inspired design allows the joint to be single-step 3D printed and provides precise motion. The bio-inspired printable joint makes it possible for the ST3P hand to be designed as a lightweight (∼255 g), low-cost (∼$500) monolithic structure with nine finger joints and manufactured via single-step 3D printing. The ST3P hand takes ∼6 min to assemble, which is approximately one-tenth the assembly time of open-source 3D printed prostheses. The hand can perform basic hand tasks of activities of daily living by providing a pulling force of 48 N and grasp strength of 20 N. The simple manufacturing of the ST3P hand could help us take one step closer to realizing fully customized robotic prosthetic hands at low cost and effort.

Qingxi Hu, Jian Cui, Haiguang Zhang et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Tailored intestinal fistula stents with a hollow bent pipe structure prepared by using a three-axis bio-printing platform are often unsuitable due to low printing efficiency and quality caused by the unavoidable need for a supporting structure. Herein, a 5 + 1-axis 3D printing platform was built and developed for producing support-free intestinal fistula stents. A 3D model of the target stent shape and dimensions was treated by a dynamic slicing algorithm, which was then used to prepare a motion control code. Our printing method showed improved printing efficiency, superior stent surface properties and structure and ideal elasticity and mechanical strength to meet the mechanical requirements of the human body. Static simulations showed the importance of axial printing techniques, whereas the stent itself was shown to have excellent biocompatibility with wettability and cell proliferation tests. We present a customizable, efficient, and high-quality method with the potential for preparing bespoke stents for treating intestinal fistulas.

Coralie Ming, Ammar Mirjan, Jesús Medina Ibáñez et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

This article introduces the concept of Impact Printing, a new additive manufacturing (AM) method that aggregates malleable discrete elements (or soft particles) by a robotic shooting process. The bonding between the soft particles stems from the transformation of kinetic energy, gained during the acceleration phase, into plastic deformation upon impact. Hence, no additional binding material is needed between the soft particles; the cohesion and self-interlocking capacities of the material itself acts as the primary binding agent. Shooting, and consequent impacting, forces can be modulated and result in distinct compaction ratios. By linearly shooting material, we decouple the deposition apparatus from the produced parts and provide flexibility to the deposition process to potentially build in any directions or onto uncontrolled surfaces. Impact Printing produces parts with formal characteristics standing between brick laying-assembly of discrete building blocks-and 3D Printing-computer-controlled depositioning or solidifying of material. It brings forward a novel digital fabrication method and an alternative to the conventional continuous AM process. This article validates the Impact Printing approach with a series of prototypical experiments, conducted with a robotic fabrication setup consisting of a six-axis robotic arm mounted with a material shooting apparatus, that forms, orients, and projects the soft particles. We will explain and demonstrate its principles and define the fabrication parameters, such as shooting force, shooting distance, and the resulting aggregations' characteristics.

Phuong Dong Nguyen, Manh Binh Dao, Thanh Q. Nguyen

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

This study introduces an advanced method that combines supervised and self-supervised learning to optimize the 3D printing process, based on the Bootstrap Your Own Latent technique. The approach utilizes two neural networks: an online network and a target network. The target network is provided with complete data, while the online network processes incomplete data through a “masking” technique applied to certain parameters. The main goal is to ensure that both networks can accurately predict 3D printing time, even with missing data, achieving over 90% accuracy. Experiments show that masking the “faces” parameter of the 3D model reduces prediction accuracy by 56.93%, highlighting the importance of this parameter in optimizing printing time. By combining two loss functions, cross-entropy and consistency loss, this approach enhances interaction between the networks while maintaining high prediction accuracy despite incomplete input data.

Yi Zhang, Elton L. Freeman, James T. Stinson et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Finite element analysis (FEA) of fused deposition modeling (FDM) has recently been recognized in additive manufacturing (AM) for predictions in temperature and displacement. These predictions can be invaluable for making corrections to the printing process to improve quality of printed components. However, FEA has limitations that discourage manufacturers from using it. For example, the fine mesh model takes considerably long computational times (although it yields more accurate results than those of a coarse mesh model). In this work, an innovative deep learning (DL)-based super-resolution (SR) approach is proposed to improve the result accuracy of a coarse mesh model to the higher accuracy level of a fine mesh model and reduce the computational time. The element in the FEA is treated as the physical pixel in an image, so the grid from fine mesh model and coarse mesh model in the FEA is analogous to high resolution (HR) images and low resolution (LR) images, respectively. The results show that the difference value E r r o r H S between HR and reconstructed SR is much lower than the difference value E r r o r H L between HR and interpolated LR, which demonstrate that our modified super resolution residual network SR reconstruction algorithm is effective to improve the interpolated LR in temperature and displacement. In addition, both the increased peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) value and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) value indicated that the quality of both temperature and displacement images is improved through the learned SR model. In addition, the results confirm that mapping between fine mesh model and coarse mesh model in a temperature field is varied from the one in displacement field.

Chunxin Liu, Taras Oriekhov, Cherrie Lee et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Rapid manufacturing of high purity fused silica glass micro-optics using a filament-based glass 3D printer has been demonstrated. A multilayer 5 × 5 microlens array was printed and subsequently characterized, showing fully dense lenses with uniform focal lengths and good imaging performance. A surface roughness on the order of R a = 0.12 nm was achieved. Printing time for each lens was <10 s. Creating arrays with multifocal imaging capabilities was possible by individually varying the number of printed layers and radius for each lens, effectively changing the lens height and curvature. Glass 3D printing is shown in this study to be a versatile approach for fabricating silica micro-optics suitable for rapid prototyping or manufacturing.

Frank J. Rybicki

3D Printing in Medicine • 2022

Hui Dong, Tao Weng, Kexin Zheng et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Soft robots, inspired by living organisms in nature, are primarily made of soft materials, and can be used to perform delicate tasks due to their high flexibility, such as grasping and locomotion. However, it is a challenge to efficiently manufacture soft robots with complex functions. In recent years, 3D printing technology has greatly improved the efficiency and flexibility of manufacturing soft robots. Unlike traditional subtractive manufacturing technologies, 3D printing, as an additive manufacturing method, can directly produce parts of high quality and complex geometry for soft robots without manual errors or costly post-processing. In this review, we investigate the basic concepts and working principles of current 3D printing technologies, including stereolithography, selective laser sintering, material extrusion, and material jetting. The advantages and disadvantages of fabricating soft robots are discussed. Various 3D printing materials for soft robots are introduced, including elastomers, shape memory polymers, hydrogels, composites, and other materials. Their functions and limitations in soft robots are illustrated. The existing 3D-printed soft robots, including soft grippers, soft locomotion robots, and wearable soft robots, are demonstrated. Their application in industrial, manufacturing, service, and assistive medical fields is discussed. We summarize the challenges of 3D printing at the technical level, material level, and application level. The prospects of 3D printing technology in the field of soft robots are explored.

Chenfei Zhao, Jun Wang, Zhuoqing Zhang et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Rishi Parvanda, Prateek Kala, Varun Sharma

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

This study aimed at the detailed bibliometric analysis (BA) of fused deposition modeling (FDM) to understand the trend and research area. Web of Science database was used for extracting data using keywords, and 2793 documents were analyzed. From the analysis, the most influential and productive authors, countries, sources, and so on were identified and corresponding interrelations were represented by a three-field plot. Lotka's law was derived for author productivity and its reliability was verified by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test. Bradford's law was used for identifying the core sources contributing to the field of FDM. From the trend topic analysis, it was found that initially the research was focused upon removing error related to deposition as well as part orientation, but with the course of time, it diversified to include topics such as optimization of printing parameters, materials, and applications. Based on the inferences from BA, the article also discusses on current research trend and highlights certain future areas for research work.

Patrick Bedarf, Anna Szabo, Michele Zanini et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Foam 3D printing in construction is a promising manufacturing approach that aims to reduce the amount of material, hazardous labor, and costs in producing lightweight and insulating building parts that can reduce the operational energy in buildings. Research using cement-free mineral foams derived from industrial waste showed great potential in previous studies that reduced the amount of concrete needed in composite structures. This article collates the latest developments in this line of work. It presents the material system with its principal components and the advanced robotic 3D printing setup with a climate-controlled fabrication chamber. Print path schemes and hybrid fabrication methods combining 3D printing and casting are evaluated. Furthermore, the article discusses the effect of different print path schemes on the thermal insulation and compressive strength performance of printed parts. A full-scale final prototype synthesizes these findings and demonstrates the fabrication of modular, lightweight, and insulating construction elements that can be assembled into monolithic wall structures. The advantages and challenges of this novel approach are elaborated on in the conclusions. Finally, the article presents future advancements required to leverage this research as a scalable construction method that can help address the biggest challenges in building low-carbon and energy-efficient structures.

N.T. Tung, Nguyen Dong Chau, Nghi N. Nguyen et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

This study proposes a model for creating facial wound-covering masks to support patients recovering from injuries, especially those with scars or deformities resulting from accidents and wars. The model aims to increase patient confidence, improve wound hygiene, and protect the environment. A novel dataset was developed, consisting of diverse facial images with various scar conditions simulated from real human scars. The study employs self-supervised learning (SSL) with a pretrained base model to convert 2D images into 3D representations without compromising critical facial features. SSL is implemented during the encoding phase, allowing the model to familiarize itself with new data. Through the integration of 3D printing technology, the entire process, from wound reconstruction to product manufacturing, has been tested in the laboratory. The results indicate that the model not only effectively covers wounds but also restores the original facial structure nearly perfectly. The improvement is clearly demonstrated through error reduction and increased accuracy across experiments with diverse datasets. This research opens new possibilities for practical applications, particularly for war victims, by offering a novel, safe, and convenient treatment solution.

Ioanna Mitropoulou

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Min Hu, Haobo Cheng, Yunpeng Feng

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Stereolithographic additive manufacturing technology has developed from point-by-point scanning exposure to layer-by-layer masking curing and even volumetric printing. Rapid prototyping is one of the important goals pursued by researchers. A continuous three-dimensional (3D) printing system based on the dual-color photoinitiation and photoinhibition is proposed with the aim of further improving printing speed. The process of continuous 3D printing is realized through the anti-polymerization layer between the cured part and the window generated by the ultraviolet (UV) light sheet (355 nm), and dynamic masking with the blue light (470 nm). The volume of the anti-polymerization layer can be adjusted by the intensity ratio of the incident lights ( I UV, 0 / I blue,0 ) and the size of UV laser spot to enhance the reflow filling rate of the liquid resin. For the orthogonal Gaussian anti-polymerization layer, an intensity ratio of 28.6 allows for an inhibition volume of 97.1% of the desired rectangular anti-polymerization zone with a height of 1 mm. The simulation analysis of continuous 3D printing process by flow-structure interaction reveals that the increase of the thickness of the anti-polymerization layer effectively improves the filling rate of the resin and the cross-sectional area of printing, and reduces the stress of the cured part. The experiments with two different 3D structures printing demonstrate that the filling rate and the stress have virtually no effect on the printing process at a large-scale thickness of the anti-polymerization layer, and the printing speed is capable of reaching 200 μm/s. Certainly, the printing volume and complexity can be further improved with the improvement of the system and the optimization of the resin.

Matthias Leschok, Marirena Kladeftira, Yen-Fen Chan et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Hollow-core 3D printing (HC3DP) proposes a new method for the production of lightweight, material-efficient thermoplastic 3D printed elements. This new fabrication approach promises material savings of 50–80%, while increasing the extrusion rate significantly (factor 10). This development pushes HC3DP to a similar fabrication speed as high-resolution concrete 3D printing. However, fundamental research on printing features enabled by this novel 3D printing approach is missing. Therefore, this article investigates printing with user-controlled bead dimensions (same nozzle, different size). It is showcased that the size of the extruded cross-section is determined by the positive air pressure used to inflate the beads. Multiple samples are printed, changing the layer height and width significantly without making changes to the hardware setup. Sections of 3DP samples are analyzed and the parameters of 3DP beads are determined. Furthermore, a set of bespoke 3D printed nozzles is introduced to subdivide the HC3DP beads into distinct areas. So far only regular beads, such as hollow tubes, have been used for 3D printing. Samples of those bespoke sections are analyzed to investigate their behavior when used for 3D printing. Finally, large-scale 3D printing experiments are conducted to investigate how printing features like bridging, cantilevering, or nonplanar 3D printing can be manufactured with hollow extrusion beads. In summary, this article provides insights into the fundamental 3D printing behaviors of HC3DP, showcases new design possibilities with bespoke and variable cross-sections, and finally proposes new research trajectories based on the findings presented.

Gang Wang, Chuanzhe Ma, Tianyu Hu et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2023

Photopolymerization-based ceramic 3D printing shows unmatched superiority in fabricating high-performance ceramic parts compared with the conventional preparation technology. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to achieve efficient 3D printing due to the light scattering in photosensitive ceramic slurries, increasing the width of solidification and reducing the curing depth during photocuring. Herein, we report an efficient ceramic 3D printing approach based on curcuminoid dye-sensitized photopolymerization under green light-emitting diode (LED). For deep penetration and minimal light scattering, ceramic bodies with good performance can be produced from a ceramic slurry with curcuminoid dye by using a green LED-digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer. Curcuminoid dye was found to provide the ability to transfer electrons to photoinitiator and play a role in improving the accuracy of the entire 3D printing process. The proposed approach here provides a viable solution toward efficient ceramic additive manufacturing by green LED-DLP-3D printing.

Tao Lan, Yihe Dai, Pingping Hu et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

The development of precision surgical procedures is rapidly transforming the treatment methods in complex surgical fields such as liver surgery. 3D printing technology, as a crucial support, has not only redefined surgical planning and execution but also improved medical education and patient communication. This article discusses the application of 3D printing in liver surgery, including surgical planning, intraoperative navigation, education and training, and 3D bioprinting technologies. 3D-printed models, with their ability to accurately display the spatial relationship between tumors and surrounding structures, provide a foundation for surgeons to devise precise surgical plans. This allows surgeons to develop more accurate surgical strategies preoperatively, reducing surgical risks and preserving more healthy liver tissue. Furthermore, this article discusses the challenges faced by 3D printing technology, such as cost and technical limitations, as well as the difficulties in clinical application, and provides a future outlook. Through a review of literature and case studies, this article highlights the significant role of 3D printing technology in enhancing surgical precision, reducing risks, and promoting patient recovery. With technological advancements, the prospects for the application of 3D printing in precision surgical procedures are broad, especially in the field of liver surgery, offering patients safer and more effective diagnostic and therapeutic options.

Jae Ryoung Kim, In Hwan Sul

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

This article presents a significant advancement in the field of three-dimensional (3D) printing. We have developed a fast parallel computation algorithm that predicts the optimal orientation of 3D printing using a general-purpose graphic processor unit (GPU). Initially designed for the central processing unit (CPU) version support structure tomography, our algorithm has been successfully adapted for NVIDIA graphic processors and the CUDA toolkit. Despite encountering several challenges, we have achieved a remarkable improvement in calculation speed. Two CPUs and four GPUs of various prices and performances were used for the speed comparison. The high-end GPU showed a surprising multiprocessing performance; a maximum of 16.2 times for Dragon mesh data and 11.2 times on average than the high-end CPU. The proposed method assumes that the input triangle should have a bigger size than the voxel size and a relatively smaller number of triangles, about tens of thousands. Nevertheless, the algorithm has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of 3D printing, addressing some constraints and expanding its practical applications.

Diana Popescu, Cătălin Gheorghe Amza

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

The article reviews the literature focused on investigating the adhesion strength between the 3D-printed polymers and the textile substrates, and its dependence on different factors related to materials, printing parameters, and fabrics type and structure. 3D printing (3DP) onto textiles is a domain in expansion as it allows developing products with new functionalities by gathering the advantages of design freedom, tailor-fit, comfort, variety, and mass customization provided by both the textiles and the additive manufacturing technology. In this context, it becomes important to document and understand how the adherence of different 3D-printed molten polymer to diverse textiles substrates can be improved for obtaining products more resistant to specific conditions, such as washing, wear, or ironing. Following a systematic search of electronic databases, 28 articles were selected for the full-text read and data extraction. The summarized information was grouped per 3DP material and analyzed factors, and then discussed in terms of variables influencing the adherence, including pretreatments and post-treatments applied to fabrics or 3D-printed onto fabrics specimens and objects. A case study of a customized polylactic acid-cotton-elastane wrist-hand orthosis is also presented to exemplify the modality in which the information synthetized in this review can be used in the development process of a new product.

Prabal Sapkota, Paul Brockbank, Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

Fuel cells rely on an effective distribution of the reactant gases and removal of the byproduct, that is, water. In this context, bipolar plates are the critical component for the effective management of these fluids, as these dictate to some extent the overall performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Better bipolar plates can lead to a significant reduction in size, cost, and weight of fuel cells. Herein, we report on the use of photoresin 3D printing to fabricate alternative bipolar plates for operating self-breathing fuel cell stacks. The resulting stack made of 12 self-breathing PEMFCs achieved a power density of 0.3 W/cm 2 under ambient conditions (25°C and 20% relative humidity), which is superior to the performance of previously reported self-breathing cells. The problems associated with hydrogen leaks and water flooding could be resolved by taking advantage of 3D printing to precisely fabricate monoblock shapes. The approach of 3D printing reported in this study demonstrates a new path in fuel cell manufacturing for small and portable applications where an important reduction in size and cost is important.

Feilong Jiang, Zhuo Zhao, Chuangjia Zhao et al.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

Facing the serious problem of rapidly increasing myopia rate, the demand for eyeglasses is increasing, while the traditional manufacturing methods for eyeglass frames and lenses are long, slow, and expensive. In this article, we propose to fabricate myopia glasses by 3D printing method, and the frames and lenses are produced by digital light processing and stereo lithography appearance methods, respectively. Through the tensile and elongation at break test, it shows that the mechanical properties of the 3D printed frames are good, and the mechanical collision simulation results show that it does not affect the normal use under the impact of large speeds, which shows a high degree of uniformity with the mechanical experiments; through the pressure test at different positions after wearing, it verifies the wearing comfort of the myopic frames; after polishing the printed myopic lenses, through the optical experiments, it shows that the transmission rate of the myopic lens is comparable to that of the traditional glasses. The transmission rate has been more similar to the traditional glasses; measurement of the refraction of the printed myopic lenses compared with the theory, the error is within the acceptable range. Through the wearing test, it shows that the 3D-printed myopic lenses have a certain corrective effect on visual acuity.

Mehmet Altug

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

This study aims to examine the differences between parametric modeling (Pm) and automatic surface modeling (ASm) methods in terms of dimensional accuracy and precision in designs. A component with amorphous, cylindrical, and flat surfaces was chosen as the sample. Fused Deposition Method (FDM) and Polyjet methods were used in 3D printers using the nominal data of this component. A 3D scanner was then used to scan the parts in question. These scans were remodeled with two different modeling methods, Pm and ASm. After modeling, the measured scan data were compared with the nominal data. In addition, the results of the study were optimized with the help of deep learning (DL) and extreme learning machines (ELM). The performance of the model created in DL and ELM was quite close to the actual performance. This result shows the validity of the optimization study. DL r 2 value was determined as 0.9774 (%97,74). The most effective results with DL optimization were obtained by using Adam as the optimization algorithm, ReLU as the activation function, 2 hidden layers, 20 neurons, and 20% of the data for testing. As a result, the lowest mean squared error (MSE) of 1.011 × 10 −6 was obtained in DL. The results can serve as a guide for the use of DL in new projects. However, when these results were optimized with ELM, the MSE value was 1.011 × 10 −6 and the r 2 value was 0.9748 (%97,48). To compare the optimization results, they were also optimized with ANN and linear regression. In linear regression, MSE value was calculated as 1.484 × 10 −6 and r 2 value as 0.9677 (%96,77). This shows that ELM gave very successful prediction results as the most effective optimization. The points examined in the study were obtained from three different surface structures, including plane, cylindrical, and amorphous surfaces. In the results of this study, it will be extremely important and easy to determine the modeling method according to the type of surface to be studied, depending on the data.

Danli Luo, Junchao Yang, Nadya Peek

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2025

Despite recent advances in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, the main materials in rapid prototyping are derived from finite resources such as petroleum-based plastics. Researchers are developing alternatives to exhaustible and potentially environmentally harmful materials through biomaterials. Mycelium biocomposites are one promising area of inquiry; when mycelium decomposes biomass, it produces a composite biomaterial, which is fully compostable and has beneficial structural and hydrophobic properties. However, mold-based fabrication methods for biocomposites require tooling and limit the possible shapes. We introduce a novel method for directly 3D printing mycelium biocomposites without the need for molds or tooling. Our method comprises three main contributions: Mycofluid, a mycelium-inoculated paste that uses spent coffee grounds, a recycled biomass; Fungibot, a custom hardware system for 3D printing biopastes like Mycofluid; and a method for incubating mycelial growth within fresh 3D prints resulting in mycelium biocomposite parts. We illustrate our contributions through a series of objects showcasing our method and the material qualities of the parts. Notably, we demonstrate how living mycelium can fuse separate prints, enabling complex geometries that are otherwise challenging to 3D print as one part.

Carlos Humberto Araujo, Javier Adolfo Aguirre, Luis Puig

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

This study aims to systematically review the integration and clinical applications of 3D printing and extended reality technologies in medicine. This offers an in-depth review of technological advances and their application in different areas of medicine such as surgical planning, medical staff training, new ways of visualization, as well as the integration of tailor-made physical and digital elements. Factors that benefit patient safety and promote innovation through technological intervention. The study conducted a systematic review of the literature using the PRISMA methodology, with a selection of studies published between 2005 and 2023. The process included a comprehensive search in academic databases from which articles were extracted that included topics on 3D printing technologies, extended realities, and applied cases in which efficacy and application in clinical settings were proven. As a result, specific inclusion and exclusion filters were established to ensure relevance to the study’s objective. The selected items were subjected to a detailed analysis, based on which the methodologies used, types of studies, areas of impact, population, and clinical impacts were evaluated. The synthesis of the results was carried out using the quantitative and qualitative approaches. This enabled a comprehensive understanding of current trends and potential future applications of these technologies in the field of medicine. The results indicate that the adoption of 3D printing and technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) facilitates more precise and less invasive interventions. It also improves understanding of complex conditions and pathologies through enhanced and enriched interactions and visualizations. In addition, technologies are consolidated as tools for medical strengthening and training through more realistic simulations. Studies show that by having better understanding, visualization, and interaction with components and technologies, there is a reduction in surgical errors and optimized duration times in the surgeon and patient recovery; finally, the use of these technologies also improves the retention of information in training and education contexts. Furthermore, the study reveals that, although the associated costs may be considerable, the gains in accuracy and operational efficiency justify the investment. Among the challenges posed by the use and integration of 3D printing and augmented or MR is the need to further improve the accurate calibration of the 3D images with physical models, which turns out to be a key aspect for the success of these applications in the clinical context. Implementation of technologies such as 3D printing, AR, MR, and virtual reality in clinical practice has been shown to have great benefits in efficiency and safety in surgical procedures. These technologies profile themselves as solutions that promise to revolutionize approaches to learning, surgical planning, and surgery. This offers customization and accuracy features, significantly reducing error margins. Furthermore, medical training is enriched by more realistic simulations and detailed visualizations. However, the construction of innovative tools that consolidate the characteristics of these technologies requires continuous improvement and investment in training, development, and appropriate infrastructure to overcome the challenges associated with the integration of such technologies into clinical practice. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current applications and the transformative impacts of 3D printing technologies and extended realities in medicine. Unlike previous revisions, this study carries out a quantitative analysis of its benefits, supported by recent case studies and statistical data. This leads to valuable insights on future directions of medical technology integration.

Ioanna Mitropoulou, Mathias Bernhard, Benjamin Dillenburger

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2022

The introduction of robotic arms in additive manufacturing enables the scaling up of three-dimensional (3D) printing processes and the realization of nonplanar path geometries. As a result, novel design potential is unlocked by having control over the layered configuration of paths in the object, and 3D printing becomes viable for architectural applications. However, the various challenges associated with creating feasible nonplanar layered paths for the realization of large-scale objects are hindering their integration in the design process and broad use. This work presents methods that contribute to the flexible and intuitive design of nonplanar layered paths for robotic printing. We focus on the challenges related to the realization of single-shell bifurcating structures, with emphasis on the paths' behavior on the bifurcating moments of the shapes. Our methods are based on the use of design techniques that originate from implicit shape representation and on the detection of critical points on the surface through the lens of distance functions. We present fabricated prototypes printed with nonplanar paths that showcase the possibilities of our methods.

Zemin Shao, Qiang Cui

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing • 2024

The traditional planar layered printing process struggles to accommodate such complex geometries, while nonplanar layering printing offers promise. Yet, nonplanar layering printing encounters two key challenges: One is that nonplanar paths often cause extremely uneven interlayer path spacing; The other is that printing with large overhangs creates many difficulties. Therefore, this article proposes methods involving path compensation and a high degree-of-freedom dual-robot system to address these issues, which has more advantages when printing single-shell surfaces with high curvatures, overhangs, or branches. The proposed method operates in several stages: First, it derives the initial printing path and compensates for the path at sparse positions. Second, this method introduces a dynamic-based method to homogenize and optimize the compensated path. Finally, the study presents the derivation of the two robots’ poses based on the printing path and conducts printing experiments. Additionally, the study compares and analyzes the compensation and homogenization results by different methods, validating their effectiveness.