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Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, also called additive manufacturing (AM), has recently come into the spotlight because of its potential high-impact implementation in applications ranging from personal tools to aerospace equipment. Even though 3D printing technology has only recently emerged as a hot topic, its history can be traced back to 1983 when the first 3D printer was created by Charles W. Hull, co-founder of 3D Systems.
3D Printing Techniques Using Polymers
• Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
• Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
• Stereolithography (SLA)
• Near-Field Electrospinning (NFES)
Popular Applications
Fashion: At the 2016 New York Fashion Week, two unique 3D printed dresses were unveiled. These masterpieces were produced through a collaboration between fashion designers and the 3D printing company, Stratasys.4 The complex designs (e.g., mixing a variety of interlocking weaves, biomimicking natural animal textures) and cutting-edge material (e.g., nano-enhanced elastomeric 3D printing material) gave the dresses durability and flexibility.
Regenerative medicine: The area of regenerative medicine has also achieved impressive applications within the 3D printing field. Dr. Anthony Atala’s team from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine has successfully used 3D printing technology to fabricate living organs and tissue (including muscle structures, and bone and ear tissue).5,6 These bioprinted body parts are capable of generating functional replacement tissue.
Aerospace: NASA has also been implementing 3D printing techniques and 3D printers to develop materials that allow astronauts to repair or replace essential parts and build structures in space. NASA recently collaborated with researchers at Washington State University to fabricate a replica of a moon rock using raw lunar regolith simulant and 3D laser printing technology.
Construction: The assembly of modular construction materials using giant 3D printers for use in the housing industry has gained significant interest, especially for poorer countries, during natural disasters, or sudden emergencies. Some 3D companies have succeeded in building houses or bridges with cement, sand, or concrete materials.10–12
4D Printing
The rapidly decreasing cost, improved software design, and increasing range of printable materials have helped to bring about a new technology called four-dimensional (4D) printing. 4D printing provides printed objects with the ability to change form or function with time according to various stimuli such as heat, water, current, or light (Figure 1A).13 The essential difference between 4D printing and 3D printing is the addition of smart design, or responsive materials that cause time-dependent deformations of objects.
This review covers both 3D and 4D printing processes and shows the materials related to different printing types.
The process of 3D & 4D Printing Technology
3D printing is the process of fabricating objects by building up materials layer by layer. he 3D printing process from modeling to final printing. Based on the use of computer-aided design (CAD) describing the geometry and the size of the objects to be printed, a complicated 3D model is created in a printable standard tessellation language (STL) file format. Then, it is sliced into a series of digital cross-sectional layers in accordance with the layer thickness setting.
Upon completion of the model, the object is fabricated by a 3D printer through the layer-by-layer fabrication process based on a series of 2D layers to create a static 3D object. 3D printing can involve different types of materials such as thermoplastic polymer, powder, metal, UV curable resin, etc.
Four-dimensional printing incorporates a time component to the 3D printed objects, making the design process more important. 4D-printed structures must be preprogrammed in detail based on the transforming mechanism of controllable smart materials that incorporate time dependent material deformations. 3D structures that self-fold based on the thermal activation of spatially variable patterns printed with a variety of shape memory polymers. Each polymer has a different thermal-dependent behavior that can make the box self-fold in a time-sequential manner based on smart design and thermomechanical mechanisms.14 The choice of materials for 4D printing is significant, however, because most 3D printing materials are designed only to produce rigid, static objects. Recently, some smart shape alloy/polymer memory materials have been developed to utilize their self-assembled behaviors driven by heat, UV, or water absorption-driven. For example, the temperature-responsive artificial hand was printed with a temperature-responsive TPU (thermal polyurethane) filament. It has the ability to contract or expand in response to specific temperatures. In addition, multi-materials having different environmental behaviors are also useful in 4D printing. A research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used two different materials with different porosities and water-absorption abilities to print transformable structures.16,17 It was composed of a porous water-absorbing material on one side and a rigid waterproof material on the opposite side. When exposed to water, the water-absorbing side increased in volume while the other side remained unchanged, resulting in shape deformation.
Future Prospects
Three-dimensional printing technology is highly versatile and efficient with respect to design, fabrication, and applications. 4D printing may be of great importance in the future due to its potential to redefine manufacturing-related industries. However, the technology must be further refined before it can replace conventional manufacturing methods. Therefore, future research and investment in 3D and 4D printing technologies are imperative to bring about improvements in essential areas including materials, printer systems, and product markets.
References:
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/IN/en/technical-documents/technical-article/materials-science-and-engineering/3d-printing/3d-and-4d-printing-technologies
https://dl.uctm.edu/journal/node/j2020-6/17_20-115_p_2094-2104.pdf
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00164/full
https://www.sftichallenge.govt.nz/our-research/projects/spearhead/additive-manufacturing-and-3d-and-or-4d-printing-of-bio-composites/
Sumeet is endowed with 23 years of global experience reflecting strong leadership qualities coupled with enormous experience & exposure in IT projects’ planning, execution, management, delivery and production support (onsite, offsite and offshore); across e-Business, Client/Server, Custom Application Development, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Enterprise Content Management, Internet based applications, Business Intelligence, Integration packages and Databases. Eminent leadership expertise with exemplary record in driving management methodologies and disciplines spanning estimation, contracting, project planning, risk management, progress tracking & analysis, report and other related factors Well versed in project management methodologies of Agile, Scrum, Waterfall and delivery technicalities of Onsite, Offsite and Offshore model with expertise in translating complex business opportunities into creative, effective and efficient IT solutions, analyzing the client business needs and requirements: translating new ideas into clients’ solutions including opportunity identification, requirements development, delivery, production support & analysis and documentation.
Jayanti, a proactive founder brings more than 21 years of rich industry experience with an insight to provide innovative solutions. A leader and a team player who aims to help an organization achieve its objective through new and innovative ideas. Her spectrum of work varies from IT Education Delivery, Instructional Design and Delivery, content management and development. She understands the need for building collaborative and trusted relationships with the clients. Jayanti exudes remarkable calm, confidence to withstand the challenges in setting the tone for the company’s values, ethics, and culture.
Nidhi has 15 yrs. of experience in Business Research, Talent Acquisition, Client Relationship management, Database Search Tools and Leadership Hiring. She has worked with internal teams and hiring managers in UK, Continental Europe and US geography to assist with recruitment efforts. She has also worked on custom projects in different sectors and industries, involving – company profiling, business overview, business segments, key financial, executive team, board member composition, competitors and other key developments.
She has been instrumental in preparing presentations on the key developments in the business world like Digital Transformation, UK Talent Trends, Digital Age Disruption. She has been involved in working on newsletters pertaining to candidate moves, company mergers & acquisitions and layoffs in US, UK, CE, APAC.
Priyali has around 8 yrs. of product and digital media experience, along with background in Product Marketing.
She has helped publishers in transforming their digital media business and reinvent their digital monetization model with data driven decision making and an effective web and mobile optimization strategy to increase revenue, website traffic, user engagement, and gain competitive advantage.
Through her specialties like Product marketing, lead generation, digital media consulting, web optimization, user engagement, content monetization, product optimization, customer success she has delivered products that are user friendly and provided a unique and consistent value to the customers.
She has worked closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Research, Web development and Design along with customers, to ensure the successful roll-out of new products and new versions of existing products.
Nitin Gupta, Business Development Manager at IvaluePlus has more than 21 years of experience in all aspects of business development, previously working in the F&B domain and has now transitioned his focus to IT/ITES domain.
His key areas encompass increasing the top line of the company by identifying and developing new business areas & opportunities. He is instrumental in leading cross-functional teams, manage existing partnerships, and evaluate company business goals
A proactive, advising, strategic and result-oriented account manager who maintains a strong link between the team & the clientele – stakeholders. She understands client’s requirement & plans out ways to achieve the required business objective. She is a people’s person and keeps thy team going in sync & flow. She dives deep to understand the business severity & aims at deliverables. She has experience in intercultural sensitivity, workforce planning & employment, language skills, Lisha has been instrumental in building company’s human capital capability through keystone involvement and systemic value addition.
Spending almost a decade into Arts & Entertainment industry and now stepping into Human Resources, right from Hiring to Training to Generalist HR, it has been quite a journey for her but it’s all about getting everything together. The motto is to learn, evolve & grow.
Sujeet is an Ambitious and self-motivated with 7+ years of professional experience In Finance. He has done his B.COM & M.COM from Kumaun university Nainital.
He has been instrumental in Financial accounting /Direct and Indirect taxes/ Payroll and Compliance Management specializing in the IT/ITES sector. He posses excellent research and financial analysis capabilities.
Highly capable, versatile and accomplished IT professional who is confident to make the right decisions as per the situation.
His experience encompasses good knowledge of Cisco, Aruba, D-Link, Sophos, TP-Link devices, Setting up of IT infrastructure from scratch to a secure fort, extensive IT management experience, planning and implementing computer systems and networks.
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