Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.7
2.0
Journals
Ceramics
Special Issues
Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices...
share announcement

Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices to Buildings

A special issue of Ceramics (ISSN 2571-6131).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 6865

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bartolomeo Coppola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, INSTM R.U. Lince, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: additive manufacturing; DLP; robocasting; DIW; ceramic composites; concrete and cementitious materials; geopolymers; alkali-activation; waste materials; materials characterization; bioceramics; biomedical scaffolds
Prof. Dr. Frank Kern

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Ceramic Materials and Technologies (IKMT), University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: advanced oxide based structural ceramics; zirconia materials; ceramics processing; conventional and additive and manufacturing technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Julien Schmitt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut Charles Gerhardt, UMR 5253 Pôle Chimie Balard Recherche, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
Interests: structured composite materials; additive manufacturing; hierachically porous materials; ceramics processing; bioinspired materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The advent of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has significantly changed the way ceramics are processed, shaped and applied. Unlike traditional processing methods, AM processes enable us to manufacture very complex geometries and create new applications for ceramics. However, there are still several challenges in the processing of ceramics with AM techniques that do not arise when processing other materials, such as metals and polymers. The aim of this Special Issue, “Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices to Buildings”, is to highlight the latest research in this field. The special issue will cover all available AM technologies for ceramics (e.g., vat photopolymerization, direct ink writing and binder jetting) as well as feedstock materials (i.e., liquid, powder and solid). Ceramics 3D printing has the potential to be a useful resource in numerous sectors, including dentistry, biomedicine, aerospace, environmental science, the military, civil engineering, jewellery manufacturing and design.

We welcome short communications, full papers and reviews from researchers in industry and academia that align with the scope of this Special Issue, and encourage discussion of the principles, key parameters, advantages and disadvantages of each AM technology.

The topics that can be addressed include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Development, preparation and characterization of feedstock materials;
  • Advanced ceramics (e.g., alumina, zirconia, hydroxyapatite, composites, etc.);
  • Traditional ceramics (e.g., clay, mortars, concretes, geopolymers, etc.);
  • Multi-material AM;
  • AM processing specifications and improvements;
  • Innovative AM processes and technologies;
  • Post-processing optimization;
  • Case studies demonstrating applications of 3D-printed parts (e.g., biomedical, civil, military, design, etc.).

Prof. Dr. Bartolomeo Coppola
Prof. Dr. Frank Kern
Dr. Julien Schmitt
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Ceramics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D Printing
  • ceramics processing
  • advanced ceramics
  • functional ceramics
  • stereolithography (SLA)
  • digital light processing (DLP)
  • binder jetting (BJ)
  • robocasting (or direct ink writing, DIW)
  • ceramics characterization
  • post-processing optimization
  • debinding
  • sintering

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

42 pages, 3811 KB  
Review
Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics and Ceramic-Based Composites: Processing, Properties, and Engineering Applications
by Subin Antony Jose, John Crosby and Pradeep L. Menezes
Ceramics 2026, 9(5), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/ceramics9050043 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 916
Abstract
Ceramics are widely evaluated for their extreme hardness, high-temperature stability, and corrosion resistance, which enable applications in harsh service environments. However, these same properties, high melting points, brittleness, and low thermal shock resistance, make conventional manufacturing of complex ceramic components difficult and expensive. [...] Read more.
Ceramics are widely evaluated for their extreme hardness, high-temperature stability, and corrosion resistance, which enable applications in harsh service environments. However, these same properties, high melting points, brittleness, and low thermal shock resistance, make conventional manufacturing of complex ceramic components difficult and expensive. Traditional processes often require costly diamond tooling or energy-intensive sintering and tend to produce only simple geometries, with significant waste material and risk of defects. Additive manufacturing (AM) has recently emerged as a promising route to fabricate intricate, near-net-shape ceramic parts without these drawbacks. By building components layer by layer, AM reduces the need for extensive machining and enables the fabrication of geometrically complex, near-net-shape ceramic structures with reduced material waste, although challenges such as porosity, interlayer defects, and cracking during post-processing remain. Nonetheless, ceramic AM technologies lag behind their metal and polymer counterparts, and significant challenges remain in achieving fully dense parts with reliable mechanical properties. This review provides an in-depth overview of the state of the art in ceramics and ceramic composite additive manufacturing. We detail the most widely used AM processes (stereolithography, binder jetting, material extrusion, powder bed fusion, inkjet printing, and direct energy deposition) and typical feedstock formulations for each technique. We examine the resulting mechanical properties (strength, toughness, hardness, wear resistance) and functional properties (thermal stability, dielectric behavior, biocompatibility) of additively manufactured ceramics, and discuss their current and potential engineering applications in the aerospace, defense, automotive, biomedical, and energy sectors. Persistent challenges, including porosity, shrinkage and cracking during sintering, achieving uniform microstructures, high process costs, and scalability issues, are analyzed, and we highlight promising future directions such as multi-material grading, integration of machine learning for process optimization, and sustainable manufacturing approaches. Despite significant progress, challenges remain in achieving fully dense structures, improving process reliability, and scaling ceramic AM for industrial applications, highlighting the need for further research in process optimization, material design, and multi-material integration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices to Buildings)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

30 pages, 2973 KB  
Review
Additive Manufacturing of Ceramic Materials via Direct Ink Writing (DIW): A Review
by Edwin Francis Cárdenas Correa, Edgar Absalón Torres Barahona and Juan Bautista Carda Castelló
Ceramics 2026, 9(2), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/ceramics9020016 - 28 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
In additive manufacturing technologies, the use of pastes and inks based on materials such as clay to create three-dimensional objects layer by layer has opened new possibilities in fields such as engineering and biomedicine. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding [...] Read more.
In additive manufacturing technologies, the use of pastes and inks based on materials such as clay to create three-dimensional objects layer by layer has opened new possibilities in fields such as engineering and biomedicine. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of 3D printing of ceramic pastes through Direct Ink Writing (DIW), also referred to as Robocasting. DIW offers specific advantages for ceramic 3D printing, including the ability to extrude highly loaded pastes with customized rheological properties to accommodate a broad spectrum of ceramic compositions, varying from conventional clays to advanced ceramics. It is characterized by filament deposition control, which facilitates the fabrication of complex, porous, or customized architectures while simultaneously minimizing material waste. Through a bibliometric analysis of the literature published between 2020 and 2024, the most relevant studies regarding printing system architectures, ceramic paste formulations, and adjustment of parameters to obtain high-quality parts were identified. This work presents relevant and accurate explanations of the DIW technology, supporting researchers and industry professionals seeking to initiate or improve ceramic 3D printing processes for a wide range of applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices to Buildings)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

44 pages, 9825 KB  
Review
Additive Manufacturing with Clay and Ceramics: Materials, Modeling, and Applications
by Rafael G. Duque-Castro, Diana Isabel Berrocal, Melany Nicole Medina Pérez, Luis Ernesto Castillero-Ortega, Antonio Alberto Jaén-Ortega, Juan Blandón Rodríguez and Maria De Los Angeles Ortega-Del-Rosario
Ceramics 2025, 8(4), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/ceramics8040148 - 4 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2510
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) with clay and ceramic-based materials is gaining momentum as a sustainable alternative in construction, yet its advancement depends on bridging experimental practice with predictive modeling. This review synthesizes advances in mathematical formulations and numerical tools applied to clay, geopolymers, alumina, [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing (AM) with clay and ceramic-based materials is gaining momentum as a sustainable alternative in construction, yet its advancement depends on bridging experimental practice with predictive modeling. This review synthesizes advances in mathematical formulations and numerical tools applied to clay, geopolymers, alumina, and related extrusion-based pastes. Classical rheological models, including the Bingham and Herschel–Bulkley formulations, remain central for characterizing yield stress, structuration, and flow stability. Meanwhile, finite element (FEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approaches are increasingly supporting predictions of deformation, shrinkage, drying, and sintering. Despite these advances, their application to natural clay systems remains limited due to heterogeneity, moisture sensitivity, and the lack of standardized constitutive parameters. Recent studies emphasize that validation is essential: rheometry, layer stability tests, in situ monitoring, and prototyping provide necessary calibration for reliable simulation. In parallel, parametric and generative design workflows, particularly through Rhino and Grasshopper ecosystems, illustrate how digital methods can link geometric logic, fabrication constraints, and performance criteria. Overall, the literature demonstrates a transition from isolated modeling efforts toward integrated, iterative frameworks where rheology, numerical simulation, and experimental validation converge to improve predictability, reduce trial-and-error, and advance scalable and sustainable clay- and ceramic-based AM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ceramics 3D Printing: Materials, Technologies and Challenges from Biomedical Devices to Buildings)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop