The first category is ceramic materials, mainly including natural silicate materials such as clay and kaolin, and high-purity synthetic materials such as oxide ceramics, nitride ceramics, and carbide ceramics. Because most ceramic materials have very high melting points or even no melting point, they are difficult to directly shape using external energy. Most require post-forming processing (drying, sintering, etc.) to obtain the final product, which limits the application of ceramic materials in the 3D printing industry. However, ceramic materials possess advantages that polymers and metals lack, such as high hardness, high temperature resistance, and stable physicochemical properties, thus offering broad application prospects in aerospace, electronics, automotive, energy, and biomedical industries.
The second category is biomaterials, which mainly include biomedical metallic materials, biomedical polymer materials, biomedical ceramic materials, and bio-derived materials. Among them, bio-derived materials are biomedical materials formed from specially treated natural biological tissues, also known as bioregenerative materials. The application of biomaterials in 3D printing can be divided into two areas. The first category applies to food processing and food packaging based on the characteristics of biomaterials such as biodegradability, low melting point, biological properties, and environmental friendliness. The second category is widely used in the medical field based on the renewability, tissue compatibility and inductive properties, mechanical compliance, and degradation compliance of biomaterials. The application of biomaterials in the medical field can be divided into three levels: prosthesis manufacturing, indirect 3D cell assembly manufacturing, and direct 3D cell manufacturing.
The third category is rubber materials. Rubber materials possess the characteristics of various elastic materials, such as Shore A hardness, elongation at break, tear strength, and tensile strength, making them particularly suitable for use in fields requiring anti-slip or soft surfaces, such as consumer electronics, medical devices, and automotive interior parts.
The fourth category: photosensitive resin materials, mainly including photocurable resins such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin, and polyester resin. These materials can undergo a polymerization reaction and solidify under ultraviolet light, usually exhibiting a liquid state. They can be used to manufacture structural parts such as blades and gears for aerospace applications.
Category 5: Engineering plastics materials, mainly including ABS, polycarbonate, and polyamide. ABS combines toughness, hardness, and rigidity, making it widely used in machinery, electrical, textile, automotive, aircraft, shipbuilding, and chemical industries. Polycarbonate has good impact resistance, heat distortion resistance, flame retardancy, and high hardness, making it suitable for manufacturing various parts for cars and light trucks, primarily in lighting systems, dashboards, heating plates, defrosters, and bumpers. Polyamide, also known as nylon, is strong, wear-resistant, self-lubricating, and has a wide suitable temperature range. It mainly replaces copper and other non-ferrous metals in manufacturing mechanical, chemical, and electrical parts, such as diesel engine fuel pump gears, water pumps, high-pressure seals, and fuel lines.
Category 6: Metallic materials, mainly including titanium alloys, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, and other precious metals. Titanium alloys have high strength and high heat resistance. Compared with other metals, titanium alloys also have advantages such as good corrosion resistance, good low-temperature performance, and high chemical activity, and are therefore widely used in the manufacture of aircraft engine compressor components, rocket, missile, and high-speed aircraft structural components. Stainless steel has advantages such as easy weldability, corrosion resistance, strong polishability, and heat resistance, and is widely used in engineering construction, food processing, catering, brewing, chemical, and medical device fields. Aluminum alloys have characteristics such as low density, low melting point, and high plasticity. Aluminum alloys are currently the most widely used alloys, and are widely used in aviation, aerospace, automotive, machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding, and chemical industries. Other precious metals, such as gold, have characteristics such as good electrical and thermal conductivity and high stability, and are mainly used in electronics, chemical industry, aerospace, and other fields with special material requirements.
Category 7: Sand and gravel materials, primarily quartz sand. In 3D printing, based on its traditional functions and properties, sand and gravel materials are mainly used in construction to manufacture building materials or structures. Low cost, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness are the advantages of sand and gravel materials in the field of 3D printed construction.
Category 8: Graphene materials are a new type of material with a single-layer two-dimensional honeycomb lattice structure formed by sp-hybridized carbon atoms tightly packed together. Graphene materials possess excellent optical, electrical, and mechanical properties and can be used to replace various traditional materials, making them a revolutionary material for the future. With the development of graphene preparation and application technologies, graphene materials can be used in a large number of downstream products and fields. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences' estimates, by around 2024, graphene devices are expected to replace complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices and find applications in nanoelectronic devices, photoelectrochemical cells, and ultralight aircraft materials.
Category 9: Cellulose materials, a type of macromolecular polysaccharide composed of glucose, insoluble in water and common organic solvents. Cellulose is a major component of plant cell walls and is the most abundant and widespread polysaccharide in nature, accounting for over 50% of the carbon content in the plant kingdom. Researchers have been focusing on developing methods for 3D printing using cellulose, and some progress has been made. Cellulose materials still have some drawbacks, such as high cost, poor scalability, and the potential for contamination when combined with plastics.
