A review of recent advances in additive manufacturing with polymer materials

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) of polymer parts has become common in industrial settings, either to complement conventional manufacturing routes or as an alternative. The adoption of AM has been greatly aided in recent years by improved machines and materials, an expanding range of available polymer-based materials, and reduced equipment costs for some AM processes. This review summarises the status and some recent advances in AM of polymer parts, concentrating on thermoplastic polymer materials (“plastics”) and AM processes that are proving to be most relevant to industrial manufacturing. Particular focus is given to the mechanical performance of the manufactured parts, resulting from developments in both the polymer materials and the AM technologies.