Frontiers of 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing: from Human Organs to Aircraft Fabricationâ€

It has been more than three decades since stereolithography began to emerge in various forms of additive manufacturing and 3D printing. Today these technologies are proliferating worldwide in various forms of advanced manufacturing. The largest segment of the 3D printing market today involves various polymer component fabrications, particularly complex structures not attainable by other manufacturing methods. Conventional printer head systems have also been adapted to selectively print various speciated human cells and special molecules in attempts to construct human organs, beginning with skin and various tissue patches. These efforts are discussed along with metal and alloy fabrication of a variety of implant and bone replacement components by creating powder layers, which are selectively melted into complex forms (such as foams and other open-cellular structures) using laser and electron beams directed by CAD software. Efforts to create a “living implant” by bone ingrowth and eventual vascularization within these implants will be discussed briefly. Novel printer heads for direct metal droplet deposition as in other 3D printing systems are briefly described since these concepts will allow for the eventual fabrication of very large and complex products, including automotive and aerospace structures and components.