Advanced Surface Engineering in Additive Manufacturing: Coatings, Modeling, and AI-Driven Approaches
A Special Issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412) belonging to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2027 | Viewed by 112
Editors
Interests: additive manufacturing; advanced materials; polymer composites; fracture mechanics; computational modeling; 3D-printed polymer composites; surface coating
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Additive manufacturing (AM), particularly Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), has revolutionized the production of complex geometries using polymers and advanced composites. However, as-printed parts often suffer from inherent surface roughness, porosity, and anisotropic mechanical properties, which limit their direct application in demanding functional environments. To bridge the gap between rapid prototyping and end-use manufacturing, post-processing, particularly surface coating and functionalization, has emerged as a critical step. Integrating advanced coatings onto 3D-printed substrates not only enhances surface finish but also imparts tailored functional properties such as wear resistance, electrical conductivity, and improved fatigue life. Furthermore, understanding the fracture mechanics, damage evolution, and interfacial adhesion between the coating and the 3D-printed substrate is essential for ensuring structural reliability.
This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to coating integration, surface finishing, and post-processing techniques in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. We consider contributions addressing novel coating materials, advanced deposition methods, interfacial adhesion mechanisms, computational modeling (including FEA, XFEM, G-code-based simulations, and Digital Image Correlation) of coated complex geometries, and the functional performance of coated 3D-printed parts. By bringing together researchers and industry practitioners, this Special Issue seeks to highlight innovative solutions that overcome the surface limitations of AM technologies and unlock their full potential for high-performance applications.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Surface finishing and post-processing techniques for 3D-printed polymers, metals, and composites;
- Functional coatings (conductive, antimicrobial, wear-resistant, hydrophobic, etc.) for AM parts;
- Interfacial adhesion, bonding mechanisms, and delamination in coated 3D-printed substrates;
- Fracture mechanics, damage evolution, and crack propagation in coated 3D-printed components;
- Computational modeling and simulation of coating processes and mechanical behavior (FEA, XFEM, G-code to Abaqus conversion);
- In situ and hybrid additive manufacturing with integrated coating processes;
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for predicting coating performance, adhesion strength, and surface properties of AM parts;
- Digital twins and AI-based predictive modeling for the mechanical behavior, damage detection, and failure analysis of coated 3D-printed structures;
- Advanced characterization techniques (e.g., Digital Image Correlation) for coated AM surfaces.
Prof. Dr. Taoufik Hachimi
Prof. Dr. Mark James Jackson
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings 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 2600 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
- surface coating
- post-processing
- fracture mechanics
- computational modeling
- artificial intelligence
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