Book Description

"Additive manufacturing (AM) is a potentially disruptive technology, revolutionizing not only traditional industries but generating entirely new ones through rapid innovation, the democratization of manufacturing, and unprecedented freedom of design. Furthermore, the development of AM technologies has practical implications for economic growth, healthcare, national security, space exploration, and sustainability. For military and space agencies, AM offers the possibility to transform the traditional supply chain system through manufacturing at-point-of-demand, recycling, and indigenous sourcing of raw materials. Similarly, these concepts are being leveraged by remote communities across the globe through efforts such as Fab Labs, which provide low-cost access to manufacturing technologies. AM is transforming healthcare in unexpected ways: doctors and patients have access to high-quality physical 3D models generated directly from computerized tomography (CT) scans. These surgical guides have proved invaluable in surgical preparation and patient consent. In the lab, researchers are developing medical devices or implants which mimic the patient's physiology, are pre-loaded with therapeutics, and are replaced with the patient's cells through natural tissue repair pathways. Pushing the limits of resolution, multi-photon technologies, which allow subdiffraction-limited resolution, are revolutionizing the development of micro-optical components. Unfortunately, adoption of AM technologies by industry has been slow; and while there are numerous success stories and commercial adoption is steadily increasing, AM is hampered by weak parts, incomplete certification methods, and empirical materials development. Regulatory and standards bodies are working to update or develop new standards and policies to deal with the unique material and production issues posed by AM. Many of the challenges facing the industry stem from our limited understanding of structure-process-performance relationships. These challenges fall into many categories and require a broad range of skills to address. For the researcher, AM processes offer unique challenges in materials development, metrology, and modeling, as well as opportunities to combine all three. What makes a polymer printable? What process parameters are important? How should parts be tested? These are all active areas of investigation. This book was inspired by the 2017 ACS Symposium "Additive Manufacturing of Structures and Functional Devices: Materials, Methods, Models, and Testing" and is supplemented by additional experts in the polymer AM field. The chapters discuss the technologies, measurement challenges, manufacturing opportunities, and fabrication potentials. We begin with an introduction to polymer additive manufacturing, identifying the measurement needs and technical challenges facing the industry. A chapter reviewing polymer powder bed fusion follows, providing a complete discussion on methods, materials, and applications. The bulk of the book covers thermoplastic material extrusion, with chapters discussing recycling-based feedstocks, composites materials, and multi-physics modeling linking experimentation and theory. Moving from thermoplastics to conductive inks, a chapter on in situ monitoring and control of direct-ink-write provides a clear example of how theory and modern machine vision can be used to create a practical and responsive control system. The last chapter provides a state-of-the-art review of multi-photon printing, discussing methods, materials, and the stunning capabilities of the technique"--