3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing and solid freeform fabrication, involves layer-by-layer fabrication of a three-dimensional structure through joining of material; structures are created according to the design of a computer-aided design model. In recent years, fused deposition modeling,stereolithography apparatus, inkjet printing, selective laser sintering, and bioprinting technologies have been used to create process polymers, composites, and hybrid materials for high performance applications. For example, data obtained from computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or other medical imaging modalities is currently used as input data for 3D printers to prepare prostheses out of polymers and hybrid materials with patient-specific features. Current challenges associated with the use of 3D printing of polymers, composites, and hybrid materials include (a) the development of novel polymers, composites, and hybrid materials that can be processed rapidly, reproducibly, and with high resolution, (b) the development of novel polymers, composites, and hybrid materials with appropriate biological, mechanical, chemical, corrosion, and/or tribological properties over the over the anticipated lifetime of the device, and (c) the development of low cost materials and high throughput technologies for 3D printing. This symposium will consider the development of new types of polymers, composites, and hybrid materials for 3D printing of medical devices as well as applications of 3D printed structures for high performance applications for aerospace, automotive, consumer, bioscience, and healthcare applications.

additive manufacturing aerospace biomedical composite functional polymer