Polymer 3D Printing Review: Materials, Process, and Design Strategies for Medical Applications

Abstract

Polymer 3D printing is an emerging technology with recent research translating towards increased use in industry, particularly in medical fields. Polymer printing is advantageous because it enables printing low-cost functional parts with diverse properties and capabilities. Here, we provide a review of recent research advances for polymer 3D printing by investigating research related to materials, processes, and design strategies for medical applications. Research in materials has led to the development of polymers with advantageous characteristics for mechanics and biocompatibility, with tuning of mechanical properties achieved by altering printing process parameters. Suitable polymer printing processes include extrusion, resin, and powder 3D printing, which enable directed material deposition for the design of advantageous and customized architectures. Design strategies, such as hierarchical distribution of materials, enable balancing of conflicting properties, such as mechanical and biological needs for tissue scaffolds. Further medical applications reviewed include safety equipment, dental implants, and drug delivery systems, with findings suggesting a need for improved design methods to navigate the complex decision space enabled by 3D printing. Further research across these areas will lead to continued improvement of 3D-printed design performance that is essential for advancing frontiers across engineering and medicine.

Use of 3D Printing for the Development of Biodegradable Antiplatelet Materials for Cardiovascular Applications

“…Additive manufacturing includes a wide range of manufacturing techniques based on the addition of layers of materials to form 3D objects. The mechanism used to add these layers can be based on hot-melt extrusion, photopolymerization or sintering among many others [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. This family of technologies has been widely explored for the production of a wide range of drug delivery systems such as oral tablets, suppositories or implantable devices [ 16 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 28 ].…”

FFF 3D Printing in Electronic Applications: Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Selected Polymers

“…To date, most studies on 3D printing have focused on the evaluation of mechanical properties [15,16], such as the tensile strength of materials based on ABS [17][18][19][20] and PLA [21][22][23] or their ability to resist pressure [24]. Additionally, the methods to increase their mechanical properties by annealing [25], using an auxiliary heating plate [26], choosing a suitable density and topology of infill [27][28][29], or adding metal particles [30] are examined. Nevertheless, the dielectric properties of a wide range of 3D printing materials produced by different manufacturers have not yet been comprehensively compared.…”

A Review on Advanced Manufacturing for Hydrogen Storage Applications

“…A wide range of materials can be manufactured using the LOM method which comprises metals such as aluminum, stainless steel, copper and titanium, plastics, fabrics, paper, ceramics, synthetic materials, and composites [46]. A convenient means of summarizing the various AM process spectra, and catego ing process candidates for applications is according to their material compatibility a with their advantages and disadvantages which is displayed in Table 1 [64][65][66][67]. A convenient means of summarizing the various AM process spectra, and categorizing process candidates for applications is according to their material compatibility along with their advantages and disadvantages which is displayed in Table 1 [64][65][66][67].…”