essay on 3d printing technology

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The 3-D Printing Revolution

• Richard D’Aveni

The use of 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has moved well beyond prototyping, rapid tooling, trinkets, and toys. Companies such as GE, Lockheed Martin, and BMW are switching to it for industrial production at scale. More companies will follow as the range of printable materials continues to expand. Already available are basic plastics, photosensitive resins, ceramics, cement, glass, numerous metals, thermoplastic composites (some infused with carbon nanotubes and fibers), and even stem cells. In this article the author makes the case that additive manufacturing will gain ground quickly, given advantages such as greater flexibility, fewer assembly steps and other cost savings, and enhanced product-design possibilities.

Managers, D’Aveni writes, should now be engaging with strategic questions on three levels: Sellers of tangible products should ask how their offerings could be improved, whether by themselves or by competitors. Industrial enterprises should revisit their operations to determine what network of supply chain assets and what mix of old and new processes will be optimal. And leaders must consider the strategic implications as whole commercial ecosystems begin to form around the new realities of 3-D printing.

Many of the biggest players already in the business of additive manufacturing are vying to develop the platforms on which other companies will build and connect. Platform owners will be powerful because production itself is likely to become commoditized over time. Those facilitating connections in the digital ecosystem will sit in the middle of a tremendous volume of industrial transactions, collecting and selling valuable information.

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It’s happening, and it will transform your operations and strategy.

Idea in Brief

The breakthrough.

Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, is poised to transform the industrial economy. Its extreme flexibility not only allows for easy customization of goods but also eliminates assembly and inventories and enables products to be redesigned for higher performance.

The Challenge

Management teams should be reconsidering their strategies along three dimensions: (1) How might our offerings be enhanced, either by us or by competitors? (2) How should we reconfigure our operations, given the myriad new options for fabricating products and parts? (3) How will our commercial ecosystem evolve?

The Big Play

Inevitably, powerful platforms will arise to establish standards and facilitate exchanges among the designers, makers, and movers of 3-D-printed goods. The most successful of these will prosper mightily.

Industrial 3-D printing is at a tipping point, about to go mainstream in a big way. Most executives and many engineers don’t realize it, but this technology has moved well beyond prototyping, rapid tooling, trinkets, and toys. “Additive manufacturing” is creating durable and safe products for sale to real customers in moderate to large quantities.

• RD Richard D’Aveni is the Bakala Professor of Strategy at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.

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3D Printing .

3d printing: what it is, how it works and examples, how does 3d printing work.

3D printing uses specialized equipment to create solid, three-dimensional objects from a digital file. The practice has been around since the 1980s, when Charles W. Hull invented the process and created the first 3D-printed part . Since then, the field of 3D printing has grown exponentially and holds countless possibilities.

3D Printing Overview

3D printing is a process that uses computer-aided design, or CAD, to create objects layer by layer. 3D printing is commonly used in manufacturing and automotive industries, where tools and parts are made using 3D printers.

As the capabilities of 3D printing continue to grow, so does its value: By 2029, the 3D printing industry is estimated to reach a value of $84 billion . This growth means we are bound to interact with products — and even homes and buildings — made with 3D printing.

What Is 3D Printing?

3D printing is also shaking up the healthcare industry. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed hospitals and increased the need for personal protective equipment. Many healthcare facilities turned to 3D printing to supply their staff with much-needed protective equipment , as well as the parts to fix their ventilators. Large corporations,  startups and even high school students with 3D printers stepped up to the plate and answered the call. 3D printing will not only change how we make PPE and medical equipment, but also streamline prosthetics and implants .

Although 3D printing is not necessarily new, there are some who still wonder what 3D printing is and how it works. Here’s a guide to understanding 3D printing.

Best 3D Printing Companies View the Top 3D Printing Companies

What Are 3D Printers?

In short, 3D printers use CAD to create 3D objects from a variety of materials, like molten plastic or powders. 3D printers can come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from equipment that can fit on a desk to large construction models used in the making of 3D-printed houses. There are three main types of 3D printers and each uses a slightly different method.

Types of 3D Printers

• Stereolithographic, or SLA printers, are equipped with a laser that forms liquid resin into plastic.
• Selective laser sintering, or SLS printers, have a laser that sinters particles of polymer powder into an already solid structure.
• Fused deposition modeling, or FDM printers, are the most common. These printers release thermoplastic filaments that are melted through a hot nozzle to form an object layer by layer.

3D printers aren’t like those magical boxes in sci-fi shows. Rather, the printers  — which act somewhat similarly to traditional 2D inkjet printers — use a layering method to create the desired object. They work from the ground up and pile on layer after layer until the object looks exactly like it was envisioned.

Why Are 3D Printers Important to the Future? 

The flexibility, accuracy and speed of 3D printers make them a promising tool for the future of manufacturing. Today, many 3D printers are used for what is called  rapid prototyping .

Companies all over the world now employ 3D printers to create their prototypes in a matter of hours, instead of wasting months of time and potentially millions of dollars in research and development. In fact, some businesses claim that 3D printers make the prototyping process  10 times faster and five times cheaper than the normal R&D processes.

3D printers can fill a role in virtually almost every industry. They’re not just being used for prototyping. Many 3D printers are being tasked with printing finished products. The construction industry is actually using this futuristic printing method to print complete homes. Schools all over the world are using 3D printers to bring hands-on learning to the classroom by  printing off three-dimensional dinosaur bones and robotics pieces. The flexibility and adaptability of 3D printing technology makes it a game-changer for any industry.

What Can You 3D Print?

3D printers have extreme flexibility for what can be printed with them. For instance, they can use plastics to print rigid materials, like sunglasses. They can also create flexible objects, including phone cases or bike handles, using a hybrid rubber and plastic powder. Some 3D printers even have the ability to print with carbon fiber and metallic powders for extremely strong industrial products. Here are a few of the common applications 3D printing is used for.

Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Manufacturing

3D printing provides companies with a low-risk, low-cost and fast method of producing prototypes that allow them to test a new product’s efficiency and ramp up development without the need for expensive models or proprietary tools. Taken a step further, companies across many industries utilize 3D printing for rapid manufacturing, allowing them to save costs when producing small batches or short runs of custom manufacturing.

Functional Parts

3D printing has become more functional and precise over time, making it possible for proprietary or inaccessible parts to be created and acquired so a product can be produced on schedule. Additionally, machines and devices wear down over time and may be in need of swift repair, which 3D printing produces a streamlined solution to.

Like functional parts, tools also wear down over time and may become inaccessible, obsolete or expensive to replace. 3D printing allows tools to be easily produced and replaced for multiple applications with high durability and reusability.

While 3D printing may not be able to replace all forms of manufacturing, it does present an inexpensive solution to producing models for visualizing concepts in 3D. From consumer product visualizations to architectural models, medical models and educational tools. As 3D printing costs fall and continue to become more accessible, 3D printing is opening new doors for modeling applications.

How Do 3D Printers Work?

3D printing is part of the additive manufacturing family and uses similar methods to a traditional inkjet printer — albeit in 3D. Additive manufacturing describes the process of creating something in layers, adding material continuously until the final design is complete. This term most often refers to molding and 3D printing. 

It takes a combination of top-of-the-line software, powder-like materials and precision tools to create a three-dimensional object from scratch. Below are a few of the main steps 3D printers take to bring ideas to life.

How Does a 3D Printer Work?

3d modeling software.

The first step of any 3D printing process is 3D modeling. To maximize precision — and because 3D printers can’t magically guess what you want to print — all objects have to be designed in a 3D modeling software. Some designs are too intricate and detailed for traditional manufacturing methods. That’s where CAD software comes in. 

Modeling allows printers to customize their product down to the tiniest detail. The 3D modeling software’s ability to allow for precision designs is why 3D printing is being hailed as a true game changer in many industries. This modeling software is especially important to an industry, like dentistry, where labs are using 3D software to design teeth aligners that precisely fit to the individual. It’s also vital to the space industry, where they use the software to design some of the  most intricate parts of a rocketship .

Slicing the Model

Once a model is created, it’s time to “slice” it. Since 3D printers cannot conceptualize the concept of three dimensions, like humans, engineers need to slice the model into layers in order for the printer to create the final product. 

Slicing software takes scans of each layer of a model and will tell the printer how to move in order to recreate that layer. Slicers also tell 3D printers where to “fill” a model. This fill gives a 3D printed object internal lattices and columns that help shape and strengthen the object. Once the model is sliced, it’s sent off to the 3D printer for the actual printing process.

The 3D Printing Process

When the modeling and slicing of a 3D object is completed, it’s time for the 3D printer to finally take over. The printer acts generally the same as a traditional inkjet printer in the direct 3D printing process, where a nozzle moves back and forth while dispensing a wax or plastic-like polymer layer-by-layer, waiting for that layer to dry, then adding the next level. It essentially adds hundreds or thousands of 2D prints on top of one another to make a three-dimensional object.

3D Printing Materials

There are a variety of different materials that a printer uses in order to recreate an object to the best of its abilities. Here are some examples:

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)

Plastic material that is easy to shape and tough to break. The same material that LEGOs are made out of.

Carbon Fiber Filaments

Carbon fiber is used to create objects that need to be strong, but also extremely lightweight.

Conductive Filaments

These printable materials are still in the experimental stage and can be used for printing electric circuits without the need for wires. This is a useful material for wearable technology.

Flexible Filaments

Flexible filaments produce prints that are bendable, yet tough. These materials can be used to print anything from wristwatches to phone covers.

Metal Filament

Metal filaments are made of finely ground metals and polymer glue. They can come in steel, brass, bronze and copper in order to get the true look and feel of a metal object.

Wood Filament

These filaments contain finely ground wood powder mixed with polymer glue. These are obviously used to print wooden-looking objects and can look like a lighter or darker wood depending on the temperature of the printer.

The 3D printing process takes anywhere from a few hours for really simple prints, like a box or a ball, to days or weeks for much larger detailed projects, like a full-sized home.

How Much Do 3D Printers Cost?

3d printing processes and techniques.

here are also different types of 3D printers depending on the size, detail and scope of a project. Each different type of printer will vary slightly on how an object gets printed.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

FDM is probably the most widely used form of 3D printing. It’s incredibly useful for manufacturing prototypes and models with plastic.

Stereolithography (SLA) Technology 

SLA is a fast prototyping printing type that is best suited for printing in intricate detail. The printer uses an ultraviolet laser to craft the objects within hours.

Digital Light Processing (DLP) 

DLP is one of the oldest forms of 3D printing. DLP uses lamps to produce prints at higher speeds than SLA printing because the layers dry in seconds.

Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) 

CLIP is amongst the faster processes that use Vat Photopolymerisation. The CLIP process utilizes Digital Light Synthesis technology to project a sequence of UV images across a cross-section of a 3D printed part, resulting in a precisely controlled curing process. The part is then baked in a thermal bath or oven, causing several chemical reactions that allow the part to harden.

Material Jetting 

Material Jetting applies droplets of material through a small diameter nozzle layer-by-layer to build a platform, which becomes hardened by UV light.

Binder Jetting 

Binder Jetting utilizes a powder base material layered evenly along with a liquid binder, which is applied through jet nozzles to act as an adhesive for the powder particles.

FDM, also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), works by unwinding a plastic filament from a spool and flowing through a heated nozzle in horizontal and vertical directions, forming the object immediately as the melted material hardens.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 

A form of Powder Bed Fusion, SLS fuses small particles of powder together by use of a high-power laser to create a three-dimensional shape. The laser scans each layer on a powder bed and selectively fuses them, then lowering the powder bed by one thickness and repeating the process through completion.

Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) 

Another form of Powder Bed Fusion, MJF uses a sweeping arm to deposit powder and an inkjet-equipped arm to apply binder selectively on top. Next, a detailing agent is applied around the detailing agent for precision. Finally, thermal energy is applied to cause a chemical reaction. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) also utilizes this same process but with metal powder specifically.

Sheet Lamination

Sheet Lamination binds material in sheets through external force and welds them together through layered ultrasonic welding. The sheets are then milled in a CNC machine to form the object’s shape.

Directed Energy Deposition

Directed Energy Deposition is common in the metal industry and operates by a 3D printing apparatus attached to a multi-axis robotic arm with a nozzle for applying metal powder. The powder is applied to a surface and energy source, which then melts the material to form a solid object.

3D Printing Examples

3D printing has permeated almost every single sector and has offered some innovative solutions to challenges all over the world. Here are a few cool examples of how 3D printing is changing the future.

3D Printing Uses

• Construction
• Medical Equipment

3D Printed Food

3D printed food seems like something out of the Jetsons or too good to be true. In fact, if it can be pureed, it can be safely printed. Like something out of a sci-fi show, 3D printers layer on real pureed ingredients, like chicken and carrots, in order to recreate the foods we know and love. 

3D printed food is entirely safe to eat as long as the printer is completely cleaned and working properly. You might want to order your meal ahead though. 3D food printers are still relatively slow. For example, a detailed piece of chocolate takes about 15 to 20 minutes to print. Even so, we’ve seen printers craft everything from burgers to pizza and even gingerbread houses using this mind-blowing technology.

3D Printed Houses

Nonprofits and cities all over the world are turning to 3D printing to solve the global homeless crisis.  New Story , a nonprofit dedicated to creating better living conditions, built the first 3D-printed community in Mexico. Using a 33-foot long printer, New Story is able to churn out a  500 square-foot home , complete with walls, windows and two bedrooms in just 24 hours. So far, New Story has created mini 3D-printed home neighborhoods in Mexico, Haiti, El Salvador and Bolivia, with more than 2,000 homes being 100 percent 3D printed.

3D Printed Organs and Prosthetic Limbs

In the near future, we’ll see 3D printers create working organs for those waiting for transplants. Instead of the traditional organ donation process, doctors and engineers are teaming up to develop the next wave of medical technology that can create hearts, kidneys and livers from scratch. 

In this process, organs are first 3D modeled using the exact specifications of the recipient’s body, then a combination of living cells and polymer gel (better known as  bioink ) are printed off layer-by-layer to create a living human organ. This breakthrough technology has the ability to change the medical industry as we know it and reduce the drastically high number of patients on the organ donation waitlist in the United States.

3D printing offers several additional revolutionary means of improving quality-of-life for patients while making solutions more accessible to healthcare providers From components for surgical machines to N95 masks and ventilators. Perhaps most impressively, 3D printing technology has even fast-tracked production and durability of prosthetics while reducing costs, like how GE Additive produced  over 10,000 hip replacements through 3D printing from 2007 through 2018.

3D Printed Aerospace Technology

Will the future of space travel rely on 3D-printed rockets? Companies, like  Relativity Space , think so. The company claims that it can 3D print a working rocket in just a few days and with one hundred times fewer parts than a normal shuttle. The company’s first conceptualized rockets, the Terran 1 and Terran R, will only take 60 days from the start of printing to the launch into space. The rocket will be custom-printed using a proprietary alloy metal that maximizes payload capacity and minimizes assembly time. 

Not only are 3D printed materials easier to manufacture quickly and at lower costs but 3D printing also provides a way to reduce the total number of parts that need to be welded together while also significantly reducing weight and increasing strength. Another famous example is GE Aviation’s LEAP engine, which uses 3D printed Cobalt-chrome fuel nozzles that weigh 25 percent less and are five times as strong as traditionally manufactured nozzles.  

3D Printed Cars

3D printing has been utilized in the automotive industry for many years, allowing companies to shorten design and production cycles while lowering the amount of stock needed to have on hand. Spare parts, tools, jigs and fixtures can all be produced on an as-needed basis while providing flexibility that would have been unimaginable to previous generations.

Additionally, 3D printing provides a way for automotive enthusiasts to customize their vehicles or restore old cars with parts that are no longer in production. Automotive repair shops can even utilize 3D printing when faced with unusual repair requests.

3D Printed Consumer Products

Consumer products, without a digital or electronic build quality, such as clothing , eyewear, jewelry and more, can all be mass-produced through 3D printing. While various other products can have their body or frame manufactured through 3D printing, any item that can be produced within a mold can also be produced through 3D printing.

Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing

Advantages of 3d printing, 3d printers are affordable.

3D printing is capable of making the manufacturing process of complex parts more streamlined thanks to software programming. This often means it is a more affordable option in some industries. 

Other factors that contribute to the affordability of 3D printing are the materials used. 3D printing can utilize low-cost plastics and concrete that are easily accessible. Also, because there is no need for a mold in 3D printing, that’s another cost taken off the table.

3D Printers Are Fast 

3D printing is ideal for quick prototyping of products because it can be done in house in small runs. This allows manufacturers to work out bugs and make changes to products faster than a typical production process. Alterations to products can easily be made through CAD while the manufacturing cost stays the same.

3D Printers Can Work With Speciality Materials 

Despite plastics and metals being commonly used in the 3D printing industry, there are a host of other options to choose from. The advantage means speciality parts and products can be made with specific materials like water-absorbing plastic, nitinol, gold and carbon fiber. Speciality materials like this allow for properties such as high heat resistance, water repellency and strength.

Disadvantages of 3D Printing

3d printers may not provide enough strength.

A downside to building an object up layer by layer, is that this can affect the durability and strength of the object. Of course, the strength of 3D printing relies heavily on what materials are used; metals and concrete will always be some of the strongest materials used in 3D printing. 

3D Printers May Have Accuracy Issues

Although CAD is often an accessible and accurate way to design, there can be errors. Accuracy with 3D printing is dependent on the techniques and printers use. For example, some smaller 3D printers, like desktop models, can wear out easily. This means that as the production of a design goes on, the products made later on may vary from the first batch.

3D Printers May Require Post-Processing 

Another pitfall of 3D printing is the work required to finish up a product. This might include sanding or smoothing out an object, heat treatment or removing support struts. Post-processing of 3D printed products can sometimes lead to additional costs.

The Future of 3D Printing

Hardly the realm of hobbyists, 3D printing is poised to upend manufacturing and revolutionize aerospace.

3D Printing Metal: How Does It Work?

Top 4 use cases for 3d printing in product development.

7 Types of 3D Printers to Know

Stereolithography (SLA): What It Is, How It Works

3D-Printed Cars: 11 Current Examples

3D-Printed Organs: Are We Close?

What is bioprinting.

What Are 3D Printed Rockets?

What Is Additive Manufacturing?

What Is 3D-Printed Food? How Does It Work?

What Is 3D-Printed Meat?

What is 4d printing.

10 Examples of 3D-Printed Houses

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3D printing

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3D printing , in manufacturing , any of several processes for fabricating three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross sections sequentially, one on top of another. The process is analogous to the fusing of ink or toner onto paper in a printer (hence the term printing ) but is actually the solidifying or binding of a liquid or powder at each spot in the horizontal cross section where solid material is desired. In the case of 3D printing , the layering is repeated hundreds or thousands of times until the entire object has been finished throughout its vertical dimension. Frequently, 3D printing is employed in quickly turning out plastic or metal prototypes during the design of new parts, though it also can be put to use in making final products for sale to customers. Objects made in 3D printing range from plastic figurines and mold patterns to steel machine parts and titanium surgical implants. An entire 3D printing apparatus can be enclosed in a cabinet roughly the size of a large kitchen stove or refrigerator.

The term 3D printing originally designated a specific process patented as 3DP by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1993 and licensed to several manufacturers. Today the term is used as a generic label for a number of related processes. Central to all of them is computer-aided design, or CAD. Using CAD programs, engineers develop a three-dimensional computer model of the object to be built up. This model is translated into a series of two-dimensional “slices” of the object and then into instructions that tell the printer exactly where to solidify the starting material on each successive slice.

In most processes the starting material is a fine plastic or metal powder. Typically, the powder is stored in cartridges or beds from which it is dispensed in small amounts and spread by a roller or blade in an extremely thin layer (commonly only the thickness of the powder grains, which can be as small as 20 micrometres, or 0.0008 inch) over the bed where the part is being built up. In MIT’s 3DP process this layer is passed over by a device similar to the head of an ink-jet printer. An array of nozzles sprays a binding agent in a pattern determined by the computer program , then a fresh layer of powder is spread over the entire build-up area, and the process is repeated. At each repetition the build-up bed is lowered by precisely the thickness of the new layer of powder. When the process is complete, the built-up part, embedded in unconsolidated powder, is pulled out, cleaned, and sometimes put through some post-processing finishing steps.

The original 3DP process made mainly rough mock-ups out of plastic, ceramic, and even plaster , but later variations employed metal powder as well and produced more-precise and more-durable parts. A related process is called selective laser sintering (SLS); here the nozzle head and liquid binder are replaced by precisely guided lasers that heat the powder so that it sinters , or partially melts and fuses, in the desired areas. Typically, SLS works with either plastic powder or a combined metal-binder powder; in the latter case the built-up object may have to be heated in a furnace for further solidification and then machined and polished. These post-processing steps can be minimized in direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), in which a high-power laser fuses a fine metal powder into a more-solid and finished part without the use of binder material. Yet another variation is electron beam melting ( EBM); here the laser apparatus is replaced by an electron gun , which focuses a powerful electrically charged beam onto the powder under vacuum conditions. The most-advanced DMLS and EBM processes can make final products of advanced steel, titanium, and cobalt - chromium alloys.

Many other processes work on the building-up principle of 3DP, SLS, DMLS, and EBM. Some use nozzle arrangements to direct the starting material (either powder or liquid) only to the designated build-up areas, so that the object is not immersed in a bed of the material. On the other hand, in a process known as stereolithography (SLA), a thin layer of polymer liquid rather than powder is spread over the build area, and the designated part areas are consolidated by an ultraviolet laser beam. The built-up plastic part is retrieved and put through post-processing steps.

All 3D printing processes are so-called additive manufacturing, or additive fabrication, processes—ones that build up objects sequentially, as opposed to casting or molding them in a single step (a consolidation process) or cutting and machining them out of a solid block (a subtractive process). As such, they are considered to have several advantages over traditional fabrication, chief among them being an absence of the expensive tooling used in foundry and milling processes; the ability to produce complicated, customized parts on short notice; and the generating of less waste. On the other hand, they also have several disadvantages; these include low production rates, less precision and surface polish than machined parts, a relatively limited range of materials that can be processed, and severe limitations on the size of parts that can be made inexpensively and without distortion. For this reason, the principal market of 3D printing is in so-called rapid prototyping—that is, the quick production of parts that eventually will be mass-produced in traditional manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, commercial 3D printers continue to improve their processes and make inroads into markets for final products, and researchers continue to experiment with 3D printing, producing objects as disparate as automobile bodies, concrete blocks, and edible food products.

The term 3D bioprinting is used to describe the application of 3D printing concepts to the production of biological entities, such as tissues and organs. Bioprinting is based largely on existing printing technologies, such as ink-jet or laser printing, but makes use of “bioink” (suspensions of living cells and cell growth medium ), which may be prepared in micropipettes or similar tools that serve as printer cartridges. Printing is then controlled via computer, with cells being deposited in specific patterns onto culture plates or similar sterile surfaces. Valve-based printing, which enables fine control over cell deposition and improved preservation of cell viability, has been used to print human embryonic stem cells in preprogrammed patterns that facilitate the cells’ aggregation into spheroid structures. Such human tissue models generated through 3D bioprinting are of particular use in the field of regenerative medicine .

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• NEWS FEATURE
• 05 February 2020
• Correction 07 February 2020

3D printing gets bigger, faster and stronger

• Mark Zastrow 0

Mark Zastrow is a writer based in Seoul.

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A resin printer from Chad Mirkin’s lab at Northwestern University in Illinois can create structures as large as a person in hours (image sequence sped up). Credit: Northwestern University

As a metal platform rises from a vat of liquid resin, it pulls an intricate white shape from the liquid — like a waxy creature emerging from a lagoon. This machine is the world’s fastest resin-based 3D printer and it can create a plastic structure as large as a person in a few hours, says Chad Mirkin, a chemist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The machine, which Mirkin and his colleagues reported last October 1 , is one of a slew of research advances in 3D printing that are broadening the prospects of a technology once viewed as useful mainly for making small, low-quality prototype parts. Not only is 3D printing becoming faster and producing larger products, but scientists are coming up with innovative ways to print and are creating stronger materials, sometimes mixing multiple materials in the same product.

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Nature 578 , 20-23 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00271-6

Updates & Corrections

Correction 07 February 2020 : An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Relativity Space intended to do a test launch this year, and misstated the timeline for the development of the printing technique that forms a 3D object in a spinning resin.

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An Introduction to 3D Bioprinting: Possibilities, Challenges and Future Aspects

Željka p. kačarević.

1 Department of Anatomy Histology, Embryology, Pathology Anatomy and Pathology Histology, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia

Patrick M. Rider

2 Botiss Biomaterials, Hauptstraße 28, 15806 Zossen, Germany; [email protected] (P.M.R.); [email protected] (M.B.)

Said Alkildani

3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, German-Jordanian University, 11180 Amman, Jordan; moc.liamg@inadlikdias

Sujith Retnasingh

4 Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg and Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Anhalt University of Applied Science, 06366 Köthen, Germany; moc.liamg@ihsorijus

Ralf Smeets

5 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; [email protected]

6 Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Division of Regenerative Orofacial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; [email protected]

Zrinka Ivanišević

7 Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia; moc.liamg@naviaknirz

Mike Barbeck

8 BerlinAnalytix GmbH, 12109 Berlin, Germany

Bioprinting is an emerging field in regenerative medicine. Producing cell-laden, three-dimensional structures to mimic bodily tissues has an important role not only in tissue engineering, but also in drug delivery and cancer studies. Bioprinting can provide patient-specific spatial geometry, controlled microstructures and the positioning of different cell types for the fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds. In this brief review, the different fabrication techniques: laser-based, extrusion-based and inkjet-based bioprinting, are defined, elaborated and compared. Advantages and challenges of each technique are addressed as well as the current research status of each technique towards various tissue types. Nozzle-based techniques, like inkjet and extrusion printing, and laser-based techniques, like stereolithography and laser-assisted bioprinting, are all capable of producing successful bioprinted scaffolds. These four techniques were found to have diverse effects on cell viability, resolution and print fidelity. Additionally, the choice of materials and their concentrations were also found to impact the printing characteristics. Each technique has demonstrated individual advantages and disadvantages with more recent research conduct involving multiple techniques to combine the advantages of each technique.

1. Introduction

Bioprinting is a subcategory of additive manufacturing (AM), also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing. It is defined as the printing of structures using viable cells, biomaterials and biological molecules [ 1 , 2 ]. Bioprinting must produce scaffolds with a suitable microarchitecture to provide mechanical stability and promote cell ingrowth whilst also considering the impact of manufacture on cell viability; for instance, chemical cytotoxicity caused by the use of solvents or pressure-induced apoptotic effect produced during the extrusion of material. A significant benefit of bioprinting is that it prevents homogeneity issues that accompany post-fabrication cell seeding, as cell placement is included during fabrication.

The advantage of homogeneously distributed cell-laden scaffolds has been demonstrated by faster integration with the host tissue, lower risk of rejection and most importantly, uniform tissue growth in vivo [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Conventional cell seeding techniques are either static or dynamic, and while the latter one results in better seeding efficiency and cell penetration into the scaffold, it is known affect cell morphology [ 7 ].

Immediate vascularization of the implanted scaffolds is highly critical [ 8 , 9 ]. With proper vascularization, the scaffolds are provided with an influx of oxygen/nutrients and an efflux of carbon dioxide/by-products; preventing core necrosis. Vascularization also supports the implants with remodelling [ 10 ]. Bioprinting techniques have been employed to fabricate microvascular-like structures and have the potential to position endothelial cells within the 3D structures as a prevascularization step prior to implantation [ 11 ].

Bioprinting can be applied in a clinical setting, where it can be used to create regenerative scaffolds to suit patient specific requirements [ 12 ]. The process of applying bioprinting to a clinical setting is depicted in Figure 1 . To begin with, imaging modalities such as CT, MRI and ultrasound can be used to create a digital 3D model of the tissue defect. Using computer aided design (CAD), the internal and external architecture of the scaffold, such as porosity and pore sizes, can be incorporated into the 3D model of the tissue defect. In consideration of the defect type, location and requirements, a selection of materials, cell types and bioactive molecules, can be used to fabricate a bioink for printing. Cell laden structures are then manufactured using bioprinting technology and are then placed either in cell culture or directly implanted into the patient.

Schematic of Bioprinting Scaffolds for clinical use. Digital 3D images obtained from CT, MRI or ultrasound, are used to design a suitable scaffold with 3D slicing and CAD software; materials from printing are chosen depending upon the application, and can consist of polymers, ceramics, and bioactive components; cells are selected dependent on the application, a bioink can consist of singular or multiple cell types; post-fabrication 3D culture can be used for characterization, assessment and ultimately implantation. 3D printing is both time and cost effective, enabling fast adjustments and implementation of designs [ 13 ]. Designs can be made to match exact defect geometries, improving the union between implant and native tissue, thereby enhancing tissue integration [ 14 ]. Additive manufactured scaffolds have shown satisfactory accuracy matching the designs [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Different types of tissues and organs have been produced using bioprinting, for instance; blood vessels [ 18 ], heart tissue [ 19 ], skin [ 20 , 21 ], liver tissue [ 5 ], neural tissue [ 22 ], cartilage [ 23 ] and bone [ 24 ].

The ultimate aim of bioprinting is to provide an alternative to autologous and allogeneic tissue implants, as well as to replace animal testing for the study of disease and development of treatments. In this review, the main bioprinting techniques are discussed: inkjet-based, extrusion-based and laser-assisted, including their basic mechanisms and current challenges. Table 1 , Table 2 and Table 3 provide an overview of recent research for each technique.

Recent in vitro studies. AG—Agarose, SA—Sodium alginate, PLA—Polylactide fibers, GelMA—gelatin methacryloyl, HUVECs—Human umbilical vein endothelial cells, PEGDA—poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, ATCC—Mouse neural stem cell lines, BrCa—breast cancer cells, MSCs—marrow mesenchymal stem cells, Nha—nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite.

Recent in vivo studies. Abbreviations: PU—poly(urethane), PCL—poly(caprolactone), hASCs—human adipose-derived stem cells, NSCs—neural stem cells, PEG—poly(ethylene glycol), HUVECs—human umbilical vein endothelial cells, iPSCs—induced pluripotent stem cells, CM—cardiomyocytes, bMSCs—bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, ROB—rat osteoblasts, TCP—tricalcium phosphates, HMECs—human microvascular endothelial cells.

Recent in situ studies. Abbreviations: IPFP—Human infrapatellar fat pad-derived adipose stem cells, GelMA—gelatin methacryloyl, HAMa—hyaluronic acid–methacrylate hydrogel, PEGDMA—Poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, AFS—Amniotic fluid-derived stem cells, MSCs—bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

An important component of bioprinting is the use of bioinks. Bioinks consist of biomaterials that can be used to encapsulate cells and incorporate biomolecules. Cell laden bioinks are hydrogel-based, as hydrogels have a high water content that is beneficial for cell survivability and shielding the cells from fabrication induced forces. The main properties of a bioink that need to be considered before printing include its viscosity, gelation and crosslinking capabilities. These properties can significantly affect print fidelity (construct stability and print deviation from the computer aided designs) as well as cell viability, proliferation and morphology after printing [ 25 ]. To produce a hydrogel that can both support and protect the cells, whilst at the same time provide a structurally secure scaffold is challenging, as these characteristics have different mechanical requirements. Stiff hydrogels have denser networks that might put the cells under pressure during encapsulation, as well as hinder their migration [ 26 ]. Ultimately, the hydrogel properties need to be balanced between structural fidelity and cell suspension.

2. Inkjet-Based Bioprinting

First attempts to print live cells was performed using a specially adapted commercially available inkjet printers [ 1 ]. An initial problem encountered when developing inkjet bioprinting was that the cells died during printing due to instantaneous drying out once on the substrate. The problem was overcome by encapsulating the cells in a highly hydrated polymer, this led to the development of cell-loaded hydrogels [ 48 ]. Inkjet bioprinting allows for the precise positioning of cells, with some studies achieving as few as a singular cell per printed droplet [ 49 ]. Cells and biomaterials are patterned into a desired pattern using droplets, ejected via thermal or piezoelectric processes, depicted in Figure 2 [ 1 , 50 ].

Schematic of Inkjet-based Bioprinting. Thermal inkjet uses heat-induced bubble nucleation that propels the bioink through the micro-nozzle. Piezoelectric actuator produces acoustic waves that propel the bioink through the micro-nozzle.

Thermal-based inkjet printing uses a heated element to nucleate a bubble. The bubble causes a build-up pressure within the printhead, which leads to the expulsion of a droplet. The thermal element can reach temperatures between 100 °C to 300 °C. Initially there have been concerns that such high temperatures would damage the cells [ 51 ], however research has shown that the high temperatures are localized and are only present for a short time span [ 11 , 52 ].

Piezoelectric-based apparatus uses acoustic waves to eject the bioink. This mechanism limits the use of highly concentrated and viscous bioinks as their viscosity dampens the applied acoustic/pressure waves, hindering the ejection of a droplet [ 53 ]. A low viscosity is achieved by using low concentration solutions, a limiting factor for producing 3D structures [ 50 ].

Inkjet printing offers a high resolution of up to 50 µm [ 54 ]. Most inkjet bioprinters provide a high cell viability, and although there is the potential for induced sheer stresses to damage the cells, most research indicates that this is not the case [ 55 , 56 ]. The advantages of inkjet-based bioprinting include high print speeds, low cost and a wide availability, however problems include low droplet directionality and unreliable cell encapsulation due to the low concentration of the ink [ 1 ].

Cui et al. developed a 3D printed bone-like tissue using poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA), that had a similar compressive modulus to natural bone, and bioceramic nanoparticles [ 57 ]. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), PEGDMA with hydroxyapatite (HA) and/or bioglass (BG) nanoparticles were bioprinted into bone tissue scaffolds. The bioceramic nanoparticles were used to mimic the native bone tissue microenvironment and stimulated the differentiation of stem cells towards osteogenic linage. There was significant difference between compressive mechanical strengths of pure PEG and PEG-HA scaffolds (~0.35 MPa); however, mechanical strength dropped significantly for PEG-BG scaffolds. Incubation of scaffolds in cell culture for 21 days seemed to increase modulus in all samples except for PEG-BG. The interaction of hMSCs and HA nanoparticles produced highest cell viability of 86% compared to the other scaffolds.

Inkjet bioprinting has demonstrated excellent cell viabilities and the potential for creating a neural network in printed organs. Tse et al. fabricated neural tissue by bioprinting porcine Schwann cells and neuronal NG 108-15 cells using a piezoelectric inkjet printer [ 32 ]. Neuronal and glial cell viabilities of 86% and 90% were observed immediately after printing. Proliferation rate of the printed cells was close to those which weren’t printed. The printed cells seemed to have developed neurites that elongated after 7 days.

Cardiac tissue with a beating cell response was engineered by Aho et al. using feline cardiomyocytes HI.1 cardiac muscle cells and an alginate hydrogel. The tissue was fabricated by printing layers of CaCl 2 into an alginate hydrogel precursor solution to facilitate crosslinking. The results suggested that cardiac cells attached to the alginate, effectively mimicked the native cardiac ECM. The printed cardiac tissues exhibited contractile properties under mild electrical stimuli [ 33 ].

Min et al. fabricated full thickness skin models with pigmentation using an inkjet technique [ 58 ]. Dermal models was fabricated from fibroblast-laden collagen. After culturing for 1 day in fibroblast medium, keratinocytes were printed on top of the dermal model and put in culture for another day. Melanocytes were then printed onto the model and further cultured in melanocyte medium for 2 h. The entire model was subjected to air-liquid-interface for 4 days. The construct had distinctive epidermal and dermal layers. Keratinocytes reached maturation and melanocytes resulted in freckle-like pigmentation (without chemical or UV stimuli). Sodium carbonate was used for crosslinking.Yanez et al. investigated the wound healing capabilities of bioprinted skin grafts [ 59 ]. Skin grafts were fabricated by printing fibrinogen solution onto to a layer of collagen that was laden with human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). A subsequent layer of thrombin, laden with human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) was bioprinted onto the fibrinogen. Finally, collagen laden with neonatal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) was printed onto the fibrin-HMVEC layer. The grafts were incubated for 24 h and transplanted subcutaneously in to the backs of mice. Wounds treated with the bioprinted scaffold had completely healed after 14–16 days, whereas wounds treated without the graft healed in 21 days.

Inkjet bioprinting is of great interest as it exhibits high resolution and cell viability. With this process, accurate position of multiple cell types is possible [ 49 , 60 ]. However, the limitations of vertical printing and restricted viscosities may mean that inkjet bioprinting needs to be combined with other printing techniques for future developments.

3. Laser-Based Bioprinting

Stereolithography (SLA) is an AM technique that uses ultraviolet (UV) or visible light to cure photosensitive polymers in a layer-by-layer fashion, as shown in Figure 3 . This nozzle-free technique eliminates the negative effects of shear pressure encountered when using nozzle-based bioprinting. It offers a fast and accurate fabrication, with resolutions ranging between 5–300 µm [ 61 , 62 ]. Polymerization occurs at the top of the bioink vat where the biomaterial is exposed to the light energy. After each layer is polymerized, the platform supporting the structure will be lowered in the vat, enabling a new layer to be photopolymerized on top.

Schematic of Stereolithography Bioprinting. Photopolymerization occurs on the surface of the vat where the light-sensitive bioink is exposed to light energy. Axial platform moves downward the Z-axis during fabrication. This layer-by-layer technique does not depend on the complexity of the design, rather on its height.

Photoinitiators are chemical molecules that create reactive agents when exposed to light energy, which react with monomers of a material to then initiate the formation of polymer chains. Photoinitiators are sensitive to different ranges of wavelength; some are triggered by UV and others by visible light. The stiffness and network density of the cured resin depends on the concentration of the photointiator but higher concentrations might exhibit adverse cytotoxic effects. However, different photoinitiators have different cytotoxicity levels. The most commonly used and the least cytotoxic photoinitiators are Irgacure 2959 for UV cross-linkage and eosin Y for visible light [ 63 ]. Eosin Y has even shown to be less toxic than Irgacure 2959 [ 63 ]. UV light will affect cells and introduce mutations [ 64 ]; therefore, visible light-based photocross-linkage has been adopted more frequently in SLA as well as in situ applications [ 65 , 66 ]. Photopolymerization is also employed during or post-fabrication via inkjet- and extrusion-based printing to harden the prints [ 26 , 57 ].

Due to the risk of damaging the cells through the use of UV light or cytotoxic effects of the photoinitiators, several researchers have investigated alternative means to enable photopolymerization of bioinks. Hoffmann et al. developed a class of materials that crosslink without the presence of a photoinitiator using a thiol-ene reaction [ 67 ]. The used monomers comprise two classes of monomers containing at least two alkene or thiol groups. These two components react spontaneously under ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation at a wavelength of approximately 266 nm. A 1:1 ratio of thiol and alkene exhibited high cell viability after 3 days, ≈95%. However, doubling the thiol content resulted in a cytotoxic effect, even though this amount of thiol groups provides high amounts of surface functional groups, allowing greater subsequent surface functionalization.

Zhang et al. used UV laser in the form of Bessel beam [ 68 ]. Bessel beam does not diffract and spread out, which will be useful to increase print fidelity and decrease fabrication time. The precursor hydrogel was prepared from GelMA, PEGMA and Irgacure 2959. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were encapsulated in the hydrogel. Cell-laden fibers with diameters 25, 43 and 75 µm were fabricated and cell viability was 95% after 3 days. This technique has potential in fabricating tubular constructs and porous scaffolds under a shortened fabrication time; however, is limited to low structural complexity.

Tuan et al. developed a visible light-based stereolithography using Lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP) [ 69 ], which is a UV-sensitive photoinitiator that can also respond to near-UV blue light [ 63 ]. Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were suspended in a Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)/LAP solution. Although near-UV blue light, 400–490 nm can be damaging to mammalian cells [ 70 ], after fabrication the hADSCs exhibited a high metabolic activity, increasing by 75% and 50% after 5 and 7 days, respectively.

Other photoinitiators that can absorb visible light are camphorquinone and eosin Y, that crosslink at wavelengths of 400–700 nm and 514 nm, respectively [ 63 ]. Wang et al. mixed PEG with eosin Y and methacrylated gelatin (GelMA). Samples without GelMA exhibited decreased cell viability compared to the samples consisting of 5% and 7.5% GelMA, which maintained cell viabilities of ~80% after 5 days [ 71 ]. The slightly decreased cell viability could be related to the fact that PEG is non-adhesive, causing the death of anchorage-dependent cells [ 72 , 73 ].

Wang et al. fabricated GelMA-based scaffolds via visible light-based SLA [ 74 ]. The precursor gel was mixed with eosin Y and NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. The scaffolds were crosslinked by a commercial projector at 522 nm wavelength. After 5 days in culture, most of the cells adhered to bioink.

Hu et al. studied the cytotoxicity of chitosan-based scaffolds that were mixed with either camphorquinone, fluorescein or riboflavin [ 75 ]. Fluorescein and riboflavin are blue light-absorbing initiators. Camphorquinone exhibited relatively low cell viability, ~40%, whilst the other two photoinitiators exhibited cell viabilities >80%. Camphorquinone is more commonly used than the other two photoinitiators; however, biocompatibility results of camphorquinone have been inconsistent in literature [ 75 , 76 , 77 ].

Stereolithography has much to offer in its application to bioprinting. The absence of shear stress and no limitation on bioink viscosity make it as an appealing choice for incorporating cells within scaffolds. However, the limitations of SLA include the damage caused by UV and near UV light to cell DNA, the limited choice of photosensitive biomaterials as well as the cytotoxicity of added. Some researchers have already begun to look for alternatives, such as using photoinitiator-free materials or visible light-absorbing photoinitiators [ 67 , 78 ].

4. Laser-Assisted Bioprinting

Laser-assisted printing was initially developed to deposit metals onto receiver sheets [ 79 , 80 ]. Odde and Renn later developed the technique to print viable embryonic chick spinal cord cells [ 81 ]. Laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB) consists of three parts: a donor-slide (or ribbon), a laser pulse and a receiver-slide. A ribbon is made of a layer of transparent glass, a thin layer of metal, and a layer of bioink. The bioink is transferred from the ribbon onto the receiver slide when the metal layer under the hydrogel is vaporized by a laser pulse, as depicted in Figure 4 . This scaffold-free technique has very high cell viabilities (>95 [ 54 ]) and a resolution between 10–50 µm [ 1 ]. Some studies using LAB have demonstrated an accuracy of a singular cell per droplet [ 82 ].

Schematic of Laser-assisted Bioprinting. ( a ) transparent glass, ( b ) thin metal layer, ( c ) vaporization-induced bubble. Bubble nucleation induced by laser energy propels droplets of bioink towards the substrate. This technique has minimal effect on cell viability. A receiver-slide can be a biopaper, polymer sheet or scaffold.

Gruene et al. conducted a study to observe the effects of the LAB laser pulse had on printed mesenchymal stems cells (MSCs). It was found that the laser pulse had a negligible effect. There were no reported changes in gene expression caused by the heat shock of the laser pulse, and cell proliferation rates were as high as the control of non-printed cells after 5 days in cell culture [ 24 ]. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression and calcium accumulation were similar to non-printed MSCs after 3 weeks in osteogenic medium.

Keriquel et al. printed in situ MSCs on to a collagen/nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) disks placed cranial defects [ 82 ]. Compared to acellular collagen/nHA disks, the disks with the bioprinted MSC cells exhibited a larger bone volume after 2 months. Michael et al. printed 20 layers of keratinocytes on top of 20 layers of fibroblasts, situated on top of a carrier matrix, Matriderm ® that provided stability [ 21 ]. Keratinocytes developed into a stratified dense tissue in an in vivo study after 11 days implanted subcutaneously in mice, and demonstrated the potential for LAB in skin tissue regeneration.

LAB has the ability to position multiple cell types with a high degree of accuracy, with several studies demonstrating singular the capability of positioning a singular cell per droplet [ 29 , 81 , 83 ]. However, it is an expensive process to perform and suffers from low stability and scalability. It has shown great potential when combined with other biofabrication techniques [ 29 , 84 ].

5. Extrusion-Based Bioprinting

Extrusion-based printing is a pressure-driven technology. The bioink is extruded through a nozzle, driven either by pneumatic or mechanical pressure, and deposited in a predesigned structure, as depicted in Figure 5 [ 50 ]. The main advantage of extrusion bioprinting is the ability to print with very high cell densities [ 85 , 86 ]. Despite its versatility and benefits, it has some disadvantages when compared to other technologies. The resolution is very limited, as a minimum feature size is generally over 100 µm, which is a poorer resolution than that of other bioprinting techniques [ 87 ]. This could limit its application for certain soft tissue applications that require small pore sizes for an improved tissue response [ 11 , 86 , 88 ], however could still be applicable to hard tissues with size larger than 10 mm [ 35 , 86 ]. The pressure used for the extrusion of the material has the potential to alter the cell morphology and function, although several studies have reported [ 86 ]. Overall, before printing of the hydrogel can be performed a detailed study with different process parameters including viscosity, nozzle diameter and the accompanied shear stress has to be evaluated [ 89 , 90 ]. This fabrication technique uses highly viscous hydrogel and does not necessarily require any chemical additives for the curing of printed structure [ 86 ]. Rheological behavior of the hydrogel ink is very important for extrusion-based bioprinting. Hydrogels are mostly non-Newtonian fluids, meaning that their viscosity changes with shear rate. However, the more viscous the bioink, the higher the induced shear-stress during printing, resulting in higher cell apoptotic activity. An important phenomenon in non-Newtonian fluids is shear thinning, which is a drop of viscosity with an applied shear force. This has a direct impact on the print quality, enabling a plug-like flow to be established, providing greater control over starting and stopping the extrusion process [ 91 ]. Although low viscosities result in less dense networks that could allow for better cellular infiltration, too low viscosities will produce a structure that has a poor definition that will ultimately affect print fidelity.

Schematic of Extrusion-based Bioprinting; from left, pneumatic-based and right, mechanical-based. Struts are extruded via pneumatic or mechanical pressure through micro-nozzles. Extrusion-based techniques can produce structures with great mechanical properties and print fidelity.

A study conducted by Chung et al., observed the bioink properties and the printability of alginate-gelatin blends. Using Alg-Gel ink solutions, the printing of scaffolds from three different alginate concentrations (1, 2, and 4% w / v ) were compared. Both printed scaffolds using 2% Alg-Gel and 4% Alg-Gel demonstrated defined structures and maintained their ability to support optimal cell growth. The highly hydrated network structure permits the exchange of gases and nutrients [ 92 ]. When choosing a hydrogel to use as the base material, a trade-off must be made between rigidness and softness in order to have a strong supporting structure that allows for nutrient infiltration and the capability to encapsulate cells. High concentrations or crosslink densities are needed to keep a good printing fidelity, yet this limits cell migration. However, low concentrations usually have a poor printability and low mechanical properties. To improve the mechanical properties of the hydrogel, reinforcing fibers like PCL can be used [ 93 ]. Photopolymerization is emerging as a promising crosslinking reaction for bioprinting because it enables the rapid formation of hydrogels immediately after printing to maintain print fidelity through the incidence of light energy at appropriate wavelengths [ 1 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. The printing resolution can also affected by the diffusion and fusion of the bioinks, which could be solved by reducing the extrusion rate or accelerating the moving speed. With good cell compatibility of the hydrogel material and the high printing quality with appropriate printing process parameters, the hydrogel deposition in the fabrication of tissues or organs can be obtained [ 98 ].

An important characteristic for the hydrogel is that it should maintain its mechanical properties after printing. During printing, the hydrogel is subjected to different forces. In nozzle based printing systems, such as with inkjet and extrusion-based techniques, high shear forces can break or disrupt the interlinking bonds of the hydrogel molecular network. This damage to the hydrogel crosslinking can cause a drop in viscosity and a reduction in print fidelity. To overcome this issue, research has been conducted into self-healing hydrogels [ 99 ]. A self-healing hydrogel can retain its printed shape due to its non-covalent reversible bonds [ 100 , 101 ]. An improved structure of hydrogels is a structure that has interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs, which consist of 2 (or more) polymer networks; where one is crosslinked in the immediate presence of another [ 102 ]. The networks can be crosslinked simultaneously or sequentially, from heterogeneous or homogeneous materials. An example of IPNs made of heterogeneous materials is double network (DN) IPNs, which is fabricated in a 2-step polymerization process of rigid and soft hydrogels [ 103 ]. Biocompatible DNs have been successfully employed in cell encapsulation [ 104 ].

Cell survivability and function can also be negatively influenced by the extrusion process. In highly concentrated bioinks, shear stresses have the potential to cause cell apoptosis and a drop in the number of living cells [ 1 , 86 , 105 ]. Shear stress can also affect cell morphology and metabolic activity, as well as the adhesiveness of the cells to the substrate [ 86 ]. However, the overall cellular response is dependent upon cell type, as some cells are more resistant than others [ 86 ].

Extrusion printing can be regarded as a promising technology that allows the fabrication of organized constructs at clinically relevant sizes within a reasonable time frame. However, selection of biomaterial and bioink concentration is important for the survival of the cells during fabrication, as well as the maintenance of cell viability and functionality post-printing.

Lee et al. used an extrusion bioprinter to regenerate an ear formed of auricular cartilage and fat tissue [ 106 ]. The ear shaped scaffold was fabricated using chondrocytes and adipose-derived stromal cells, encapsulated in a hydrogel composed of PCL and poly(ethylene-glycol) (PEG). The bioprinted ear achieved a 95% cell viability [ 106 ]. The regeneration of the ear has been considered to be a challenge due to its complex structure and composition, which is difficult to replicate using traditional fabrication techniques.

Kundu et al. produced cartilage scaffolds by extruding alginate hydrogel onto PCL [ 107 ]. Scaffold were printed either with or without human inferior turbinate-tissue derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hTMSCs) within the alginate bioink. Better chondrogenic function was observed when the hTMSCs were encapsulated in alginate gel as well as an increase in extra cellular matrix (ECM) production without an adverse tissue response when implanted into the dorsal subcutaneous spaces of mice [ 107 ]. The encapsulation of the cells in alginate hydrogel showed negligible effects on the viability of the chondrocytes which addressed the formation and synthesis of cartilaginous ECM.

Pati et al. developed a hybrid scaffold combining PCL and decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) [ 108 ]. The dECM bioink was loaded with stem cells derived from adipose, cartilage and heart tissues, and deposited into a PCL framework. It was observed that there was a cell-to-cell interconnectivity within 24 h and a cell and viability of 90% on day 7. This study shows the ability to print complex structures with appropriate material and cells, which can provide an optimized microenvironment that is conductive to the growth of 3D structured tissues.

Miri et al. demonstrated the possibility to create hierarchical cell laden structures to mimic multicellular tissues [ 26 ]. For in vitro studies, hydrogels including poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) loaded with NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and C2C12 skeletal muscle cells were printed into structures resembling musculoskeletal junctions, muscle strips and tumor angiogenesis. The prints retained interfaces and adequate proliferation rates after 3, 5 and 7 days in cell culture. PEGDA-framed chips that had a concentration-gradient of GelMA ranging from 5–15%, were implanted subcutaneously in rats. The result showed formation of the blood vessel network in the bioactive GelMA hydrogels, while the PEGDA served as the frame in the bioprinted multimaterial structure. This novel pneumatic-based process of creating microfluidic devices enabled the printing of different cell suspensions in order to achievemultimaterial devices.

Extrusion bioprinting is a promising technique to create biomimetic structures to replace tissues and organs. This technique was also efficient in creating microfluidic chips for research applications. Despite its great versatility and feasibility in vertical printing, extrusion-based bioprinting has a relatively limited resolution that does not allow for cell positioning, and requires an advanced hydrogel bioink that maintains cell viability as well as mechanical integrity which has led to the development and use of self-healing hydrogels as well as interpenetrating polymer networks.

6. Discussion

3D bioprinting is a relatively new aspect to tissue engineering and has opened the possibility of creating an unprecedented biomimicry, which could ultimately replace the current gold standard of autografts. Biomimicry, in form and function, has great significance in regenerative medicine, drug screening and understanding pathology [ 109 ]. In vitro applications have been used to assess pathological and toxicological conditions, as well as implant integration, and offers a methodology with a high-throughput [ 110 ]. Biomimetic microfluidic chips have great potential in replacing animal studies for drug and material screening.

Each bioprinting technique has different requirements for the bioink that can create diverse effects on the encapsulated cells. Inkjet bioprinting provides high resolution and accurate cell positioning. However, it requires the bioink to have a low concentration, which may result in poor structural integrity and inefficient cell encapsulation. This technique has shown great success in creating neural and skin tissues [ 32 , 59 ]. In skin tissue engineering, scaffolds fabricated using inkjet bioprinting have delivered better results when compared to a commercial graft Alpigraf ® to repair full thickness wounds in mice [ 37 ].

Stereolithography offers the possibility of printing cell-laden structures with the shortest fabrication time possible, hence limiting the exposure of the cells to non-physiological conditions. SLA fabrication does not inflict shear stresses upon the cells, unlike in nozzle based techniques, which have the potential to cause cell apoptosis. However, complex designs that include hollow structures (vessels, vasculature or ducts), can become blocked due to remnants of the precursor hydrogel within the printed pores [ 26 ]. Another problem with SLA is that surplus bioink is used as fabrication is performed in a vat. That vat is filled with a larger volume of biomaterial, cells and biomolecules than what is needed for the fabrication of the scaffold.

Extrusion-based printing is the most feasible technique in terms of vertical configuration, although has the lowest reported cell survival among all techniques. The low survivability is due to the shear stress that arises during printing. An important aspect of extrusion printing is its influence on the hydrogel during and after printing. Due to the high shear stresses induced during printing it is possible that the hydrogel could lose its structural integrity. This has led to the development of self-healing hydrogels, which regain their mechanical integrity after the application of shear [ 111 ]. Extrusion-based bioprinting has succeeded in creating complex tissue constructs and multi-material microfluidic devices [ 36 , 39 ].

A problem encountered by all techniques when using photopolymerization to harden the bioink, is the cytotoxicity of the photoinitiators used and the damage inflicted by UV (10–400 nm) or near-UV blue (400–490 nm) irradiation. However, alternatives to the use of UV light and the use of photoinitiators are under investigation. Visible light-sensitive photoinitiators have reported less cytotoxicity than the most commonly used UV-sensitive photoinitiators [ 63 ], as well as an enhanced print fidelity [ 78 ].

Post-fabrication, cell-laden scaffolds can be incubated in culture medium to ensure the attachment of cells [ 112 ]. Incubation for longer periods (21 days) has resulted in an increase of mechanical strength of the scaffolds due to tissue development [ 57 ]. Incubation can be static in cell culture or dynamic using bioreactors. Dynamic culturing can provide continuous infiltrating flow of medium and/or compressive/tensile loading, which is most beneficial for cartilage and bone tissue engineering [ 113 ].

Current research demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of using more than one fabrication technique in the manufacturing process. Inkjet printing and LAB have the capability of accurate cell positioning with both of them having achieved the positioning of singular cells per droplet. However, inkjet printing is limited by its ability to produce a 3D architecture, whereas LAB only positions the bioink onto a prefabricated scaffold and is also associated with a high cost. In contrast, extrusion bioprinting has fast fabrication times for large 3D structures, yet has poor cell survivability. Therefore, by combining either inkjet bioprinting or LAB with extrusion printing could provide the ideal combination for producing a scaffold that has both physiologically relevant proportions as well as supports viable cells.

Research has already been implemented combining different printing techniques. In a study by Kim et al., a skin model was fabricated using an extrusion printer to create the main supporting structure and an inkjet printer was used to position dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes within the scaffold [ 114 ]. The bioprinted scaffold formed dermal and epidermal layers after culturing. Another study combined extrusion printing with stereolithography to create a model for cancer research, where microfluidic devices were fabricated using a digital micro-mirror device and pneumatic extrusion, to understand tumor angiogenesis [ 26 ]. In situ applications, where the cell-laden biomaterial is directly deposited into the defect, are also being investigated for accelerated wound healing and bone regeneration, which have demonstrated improved results in comparison to non-cell containing grafts [ 53 , 65 , 66 ].

Finally, another aspect of bioprinting is its potential to provide prevascularization of the scaffolds. Accurate cell positioning in LAB and inkjet bioprinting techniques could enable a vasculature to be printed into a scaffold. Both techniques have shown promising results in positioning endothelial cells to induce angiogenesis [ 29 , 42 ]. Prevascularization is essential to avoid necrotic failure of the implantation. Other cell positioning research based on inkjet techniques shows great potential in constructing neural networks within large structures [ 32 ].

7. Conclusions

Additive manufacturing has been heavily applied to tissue engineering over the past decade. Bioprinting enables the production of scaffolds with a homogeneous distribution of cells throughout a scaffold. An organized distribution of different cell types can be positioned within the supporting material, mimicking tissues with multiple cell types or the interface between two tissues. While the choice of material and design impact the viability and proliferation of the printed cells, the different techniques have also shown variable cell activities post-fabrication. Bioprinting is still under development and has many bridges to cross before entering the clinical world, particularly as an in situ direct application. From this brief review, it is concluded that different applications require different fabrication techniques, depending on required resolution, speed, cost, the ability to print vertically etc. Future developments are now concentrating on the combining of techniques to work in a complementary fashion to optimize the process of creating tissue-mimicking structures.

Abbreviations

Author Contributions

S.A., S.R. and Z.I. conducted a literature review to provide the information of for this review article, Z.P.K., P.M.R. and M.B. wrote the article, R.S. and O.J. proof read the manuscript and helped with the final editing.

This research received no external funding

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

How is 3D Printing Changing the Textile Industry?

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3D printing has revolutionized multiple industries in recent years, and now it may be changing the way we produce textiles. This article will look at the key role 3D printing techniques are playing in the modern textile industry.

Image Credit: nikkytok/Shutterstock.com

What is 3D Printing?

3D printing, otherwise known as additive manufacturing, is a recent innovation that has fast become one of the most important manufacturing methods. In this process, products are constructed layer-by-layer according to a specific computer-aided design from extruded materials.

There have been several different types of 3D printing processes developed over the past few decades, including fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, digital light processing, and fused filament fabrication.

3D printing methods possess several benefits over traditional manufacturing, including cost-effectiveness, time, resource, and energy savings, significantly less material waste, and enhanced design freedom. Several industries including manufacturing, aerospace, transportation, the space industry, and construction have extensively explored the use of these methods and widely implemented 3D printing technologies.

How Can 3D Printing Help the Textile Industry?

The field of 3D printing fabrics is in its infancy, but there are some key benefits that producing textiles with these methods could bring. The textiles industry is a major consumer of water and material resources, which gives it a massive environmental footprint. Currently, the global textiles industry is extremely unsustainable, and scientists are constantly exploring new avenues to improve methods utilized in the industry.

3D textile printing has the potential to significantly reduce the number of resources needed to produce fabrics for uses such as clothing and furnishings. Processes can be streamlined, use less raw materials, chemicals, and water, and moreover, the amount of waste materials produced is significantly curtailed using 3D printing methods.

Other benefits include reduced energy needs and consequent carbon emissions, cost savings, and enhanced design freedom. Multi-material printing capabilities provide opportunities for advanced, innovative material design that is not possible with traditional manufacturing techniques.

More from AZoM: Creating Sustainable Textiles From Seaweed

Another key innovation that 3D printing makes possible is the manufacture of “smart” materials with embedded functionalities and unique structures. In short, 3D printing is a revolutionary solution for the textile industry.

3D Printed Textiles: Problems with Flexibility and Wearability

One key challenge with 3D printing fabrics is their relative stiffness compared to traditionally manufactured textiles, which limits their wearability and comfort. Some 3D printed textiles have been introduced into the market in recent years, but the widespread commercial viability of these fabrics is limited by this issue.

A few solutions have been proposed to overcome this limitation and impart properties such as stretchability, softness, and flexibility in 3D printed fabrics. The three main approaches are printing flexible structural units, printing fibers, and printing on textiles.

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Several studies have explored this problem, providing different routes to fully flexible and wearable 3D printed fabrics. For instance, studies have explored the development of fabrics with chainmail structures, geometric structures, and bionic structures. Other studies have explored the direct deposition of 3D printed polymers on traditional fabrics to produce fabrics with unique structures and functionalities.

3D Knitwear

Knitwear is produced the world over, but the process of producing clothes using traditional knitting methods is incredibly resource-intensive, contributing massively to the textile industry’s carbon footprint. 3D knitwear has been investigated in recent years, with machines that can 3D print individual fibers developed by companies such as New Industrial Order.

This technology promises to improve the circularity of clothing manufacturing. Clothes can be manufactured to order with savings on cost, materials, energy, and waste. Seamless construction allows the re-use of yarn to manufacture new garments.

MIT’s Work on Soft Fabrics

Researchers at MIT have developed soft fabrics from TPU. Focusing on the structure of printed materials, they were inspired by collagen, one of the main proteins in biological organisms which possesses an intertwined structure with enhanced flexibility and strength.

The researchers have proposed that their innovation could be used in the textiles industry as well as for use in the medical field as cardiovascular stents, surgical mesh, and braces.

Heat-Wicking Materials: Producing 3D Printed Fabrics with Enhanced Cooling

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed 3D printed materials with advanced heat-wicking capabilities. The material’s innovative structure, composed of polyvinyl alcohol and boron nitride, maximizes thermal conductivity, pulling heat into the material in one way and expelling it out the other. Essentially, this turns the fabric into a low-cost, powerless air-conditioner with applications for sportswear and everyday clothing.

NASA’s Scale Maille Project

The field of space exploration requires materials that can handle the rigors of extreme environments. NASA, which is at the forefront of 3D printing technologies, has sought to develop fabrics that provide enhanced insulation and protection against the harsh environment of outer space.

One ongoing project from NASA is the production of “scale maille” which can be printed in one piece from innovative flexible metal. It resembles scale armor and possesses enhanced thermal control, flexibility, foldability, and strength. Both geometry and function can be printed, which has led scientists at NASA to term it “4D printing.”

Video Credit: nature video/Youtube.com

Materials with Enhanced Protective Performance

One study by Wang et al. has produced an innovative 3D printed protective material using selective laser sintering. This material is composed of interlocked granular particles which can switch between a soft, flexible, and wearable state and a hardened, protective state.

When pressure is applied, the particles interlock and form a hard, chainmail-like structure with twenty-five times more stiffness than its relaxed state. Analysis demonstrated that in this hardened state, the material can bear loads of more than thirty times the weight of the material.

3D Printed Electronic Materials

Zhang et al. have created an electrically conductive material using 3D printing. The material is composed of a conductive core of carbon nanotubes and a silk fibroin dielectric sheath. This smart material has been proposed for use as a bioelectrical harvesting fabric that can be used in multiple wearable electronics devices.

3D printing has offered some innovative solutions for the textiles industry and associated fields. Whilst still in its infancy, the number of projects already presenting intriguing solutions to current commercial needs demonstrates the potential of the field. As the field progresses, there will no doubt be continued innovation in the manufacture of 3D printed fabrics.

Further Reading and More Information

Xiao, Y-Q & Kan, C-W (2022) Review on Development and Application of 3D-Printing Technology in Textile and Fashion Design Coatings 12(12) 267 [online] mdpi.com. Available at:  https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/12/2/267

Hay, Z (2019) 3D Printed Fabric: The Most Promising Projects All3DP [online] all3dp.com. Available at:  https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printed-fabric-most-promising-project/

New Industrial Order [online] new-industrial-order.com. Available at:  https://new-industrial-order.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

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Reg Davey is a freelance copywriter and editor based in Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Writing for AZoNetwork represents the coming together of various interests and fields he has been interested and involved in over the years, including Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences, and Environmental Science.

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An optimization study of 3d printing technology utilizing a hybrid gel system based on astragalus polysaccharide and wheat starch, 1. introduction, 2. materials and methods, 2.1. experimental materials, 2.2. instruments and equipment.

• Lab-made pneumatic-extrusion condensing 3D food printer;
• JA3003 electronic analytical balance, Shanghai Zanwei Weighing Apparatus Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China;
• TL-PRO texture analyzer, Beijing Ying Sheng Heng Tai Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China;
• DF-101S constant-temperature oil bath magnetic stirrer, Shanghai Qiu Zuo Scientific Instruments Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China;
• MC-7K centrifuge, Zhejiang Ou Mai Ke Testing Instruments Co., Ltd., Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Pneumatic-Extrusion Condensing 3D Food Printer

2.3. experimental methods, 2.3.1. preparation of printing materials, 2.3.2. the 3d printer extrusion layer height setting, 2.3.3. single-factor 3d printing parameter setting, 2.3.4. evaluation of 3d printing sample molding effect, 2.3.5. measurement of texture characteristics, 2.3.6. determination of gel deposition rate, 2.3.7. optimization of the test design of the printing process response surface, 2.3.8. printing process response surface optimization test design, 3. results and analysis, 3.1. determination of printing layer height, 3.2. the influence of polysaccharide content on the 3d printing performance of astragalus–starch mixed gels, 3.3. the impact of polysaccharide content on the deposition rate of astragalus–starch mixed gels, 3.4. the influence of polysaccharide content on the textural properties of astragalus–starch mixed-gel 3d printing samples, 3.5. the impact of single-factor parameters on the precision of printed samples, 3.5.1. the influence of fill rate on the precision of printed samples, 3.5.2. the influence of nozzle diameter on the precision of printed samples, 3.5.3. the influence of printing speed on the precision of printed samples, 3.6. response surface optimization test design and results and response surface model, 3.6.1. response surface test design and result analysis, 3.6.2. response surface analysis and determination of optimal printing parameters, 3.6.3. verification of optimal printing parameters, 4. conclusions, author contributions, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Xia, G.; Tao, L.; Zhang, S.; Hao, X.; Ou, S. An Optimization Study of 3D Printing Technology Utilizing a Hybrid Gel System Based on Astragalus Polysaccharide and Wheat Starch. Processes 2024 , 12 , 1898. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12091898

Xia G, Tao L, Zhang S, Hao X, Ou S. An Optimization Study of 3D Printing Technology Utilizing a Hybrid Gel System Based on Astragalus Polysaccharide and Wheat Starch. Processes . 2024; 12(9):1898. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12091898

Xia, Guofeng, Lilulu Tao, Shiying Zhang, Xiangyang Hao, and Shengyang Ou. 2024. "An Optimization Study of 3D Printing Technology Utilizing a Hybrid Gel System Based on Astragalus Polysaccharide and Wheat Starch" Processes 12, no. 9: 1898. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12091898

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3D Printing Technology in Medicine Essay

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Disadvantage

3D printing technology entails the use of 3D printers in creating objects that have definite shapes. It has been applied in many areas since 1984, but its application in medicine took place for the first time in 2014 ( 3D printers, 2014). The printers can print human organs such as hands, pelvis, legs, and many other parts. Though this technology has not affected me in any way, it captured my attention when experts printed a left hand for a five-year British girl in October 2014.

I think this technology will have a great impact on medicine. On-going research is on the possibility of printing internal organs. If it succeeds, it will replace organ transplants between human beings. Therefore, it has a bright future.

However, it requires special skills in the workplace. Notably, doctors need to learn how to use the printer in developing organs for patients in need of them. In addition, they need to know how to use them on human bodies.

• Replaces the removal of organs from other human beings
• Printing organs are cheaper and easier to get compared to real organs.

Employees need to be trained on how to use it at the workplace.

3D printers: Reviews and comparisons. (2014). Web.

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Design of a padded patient specific wrist cast for 3D printing-thermoforming technique

• Original Article
• Published: 03 September 2024

Cite this article

• Neilson Sorimpuk 1 ,
• Gan Jet Hong Melvin 2 , 3 ,
• Wai Heng Choong 3 &
• Bih-Lii Chua 2 , 3  

This study proposed two designs of padded patient specific wrist cast as an alternative using the 3D printing thermoforming production technique. These designs were printed as a flat structure with and without hinge joints. The casts were 3D printed with polylactic acid (PLA) filament as the main structure and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as the padding material. The casts were fitted to the subject’s wrist by thermoforming the printed structure. The strength of the proposed structure was analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA) during the design stage to estimate the mechanical properties of the proposed cast such as local displacement under a specific load, stress and safety factor. The thermoforming tests of the proposed designs at various temperatures were conducted experimentally to observe any crack and delamination after thermoforming. The design with hinge joint was selected based on its proper post-thermoforming fit as a functional wrist cast.

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Case study: Hybrid model for the customized wrist orthosis using 3D printing

Enhancing Prosthetic Hand Functionality with Elastic 3D-Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane

A practical methodology for computer-aided design of custom 3D printable casts for wrist fractures

Abbreviations.

Fused deposition modelling

Finite element analysis

Polylactic acid

Polyvinyl chride

Thermoforming temperature

Thermoplastic polyurethane

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia.

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Tambunan Community College, Tambunan, 89650, Malaysia

Neilson Sorimpuk

Materials Engineering Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, 88400, Malaysia

Gan Jet Hong Melvin & Bih-Lii Chua

Centre of Research in Energy and Advanced Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, 88400, Malaysia

Gan Jet Hong Melvin, Wai Heng Choong & Bih-Lii Chua

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Correspondence to Bih-Lii Chua .

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Neilson Peter Sorimpuk received his B.Eng. degree from Technical University of Malacca, Malaysia in 2010. He completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2023. He is currently a Lecturer at the Tambunan Community College, Malaysia. His research interests include development of applications using fused filament fabrication and agriculture machinery.

G. J. H. Melvin received his Ph.D. from Shinshu University, Japan in 2015. Now, he is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Programme at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia. His major field is related to materials science, which includes nanoparticles, hybrid nanomaterials, carbon-based nanomaterials, biomass-derived carbon materials, and composite materials.

Wai Heng Choong earned his Ph.D. from Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2017 and presently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Programme at the same institution. His expertise lies in the dynamic intersection of computational fluid dynamics in marine propulsion, industrial robotic automation, and advanced composite materials.

Bih Lii Chua received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia in 2004 and 2008, respectively. He then received his Ph.D. degree from Chosun University, Korea in 2019. Dr. Chua is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Mechanical Engineering Programme, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. His research interests include modeling and simulation of metal additive manufacturing processes using laser and electron beam, and development of applications using fused filament fabrication.

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Sorimpuk, N., Melvin, G.J.H., Choong, W.H. et al. Design of a padded patient specific wrist cast for 3D printing-thermoforming technique. J Mech Sci Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-024-2404-y

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Received : 20 March 2024

Revised : 30 April 2024

Accepted : 30 April 2024

Published : 03 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-024-2404-y

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