3D printing of polymer composites: Materials, processes, and applications

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) (also known as 3D printing) has enabled the customized fabrication of objects with complex geometries and functionalities in mechanical and electrical properties. AM technologies commonly use polymers and composites and have been advancing in a variety of industrial and emerging applications. Despite recent progress in 3D printing of polymer composites, many challenges, such as the suboptimal quality of manufactured products and limited material available for 3D printing, need to be addressed for the broad adoption of additively manufactured polymer composites. This review first provides a brief history of AM technologies along with 3D printing polymers. Subsequently, we discuss the state-of-the-art for the design of polymers and filling materials, the principles of AM processes, and emerging applications of 3D printed polymer and composites. Finally, we share our outlook of potential problems and challenges presented in AM of polymer composites, which might lead to future research directions.

Advances in 3D Gel Printing for Enzyme Immobilization

“…Importantly, though our discussion was confined to studies with enzymes directly immobilized on or inside the 3D printed structure, further progress in this convergence field is not separable from the independently evolving fields of 3D printing [ 16 ], conventional enzyme immobilization [ 65 ], 3D printed microfluidic devices [ 96 ], and bioprinting [ 35 ]. Extensive literature exists on employing 3D printing methods in biomedical engineering field [ 97 ] for live cell cultures and delivering bioactive molecules.…”

“…This design approach is well-suited for enzyme immobilization. Currently, there are seven main 3D printing technologies: material extrusion (ME), vat photopolymerization (VP), powder bed fusion (PBF), material jetting (MJ), binder jetting (BJ), sheet lamination (SL), and directed energy deposition (DED) [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Among these technologies, ME and VP are the two most common methods used for enzyme immobilization.…”

Physicochemical Characterization and Finite Element Analysis-Assisted Mechanical Behavior of Polylactic Acid-Montmorillonite 3D Printed Nanocomposites

“…In today’s green material research, nanocomposites based on nanoclays have a lot of potential as a small amount of nanoclay in the polymer matrix can enhance the mechanical and material behavior without losing processability [ 4 ]. Nanoclays can improve the mechanical properties, crystallization, and thermal stability of polyesters, including poly(lactic acid) (PLA) [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

An Overview of Extracellular Matrix-Based Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting

“…The naturally derived biomaterials have good biocompatibility, but their mechanical properties are weak. Despite the poor biocompatibility of synthetic biomaterials, they have adjustable properties ( Park et al, 2022 ). To successfully construct a functional living tissue microenvironment, it is necessary to simulate the composition and distribution of target tissues or organs.…”