Machine Learning for Material and Process Optimization in Additive Manufacturing

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 February 2026 | Viewed by 461

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Information Engineering, Suzhou University, Suzhou, China
Interests: 3D printing; machine learning; process modeling and optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of 3D Printing, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, Daejeon 34103, Republic of Korea
Interests: 3D printing; additive manufacturing; advanced manufacturing; powder materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, SAR, China
Interests: process monitoring; prognostics and health management; machine learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the application of machine learning in additive manufacturing (AM) has established a new paradigm for material design and performance optimization. AM, also known as 3D printing, has revolutionized the production of complex, high-performance components across industries including the aerospace, biomedical engineering, and energy industries. However, the inherent process complexity of AM and the challenges in optimizing material behavior under variable manufacturing conditions have limited the full realization of its potential. Machine learning (ML) offers powerful solutions to these challenges through data-driven modeling, real-time process control, intelligent material design, and predictive maintenance capabilities.

This Special Issue will focus on predicting material structure–property relationships and examine how machine learning models can enable intelligent control of microstructural evolution, defect formation, and mechanical properties in additive manufacturing processes. The research highlights the potential of data-driven approaches to overcome limitations of traditional empirical models while accelerating the development of novel materials, thereby providing theoretical foundations for cross-scale design in AM.

We cordially invite manuscript submissions addressing these topics for consideration in this Special Issue.

Dr. Haining Zhang
Dr. Joon Phil Choi
Dr. Xingchen Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • machine learning
  • additive manufacturing
  • process optimization
  • material design
  • artificial intelligence
  • material development
  • digital twins
  • process control
  • data-driven modeling
  • advanced manufacturing
  • sustainable manufacturing

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 3778 KB  
Article
Optimization of Printing Parameters Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for Uniform Filament Mass Distribution at Corners in 3D Cementitious Material Printing
by Zhixin Liu, Liang Si, Yebao Liu, Mingyang Li and Teck Neng Wong
Crystals 2025, 15(8), 725; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15080725 - 15 Aug 2025
Viewed by 267
Abstract
Three-dimensional cementitious material printing (3DCMP) enables structures with complex geometry to be fabricated. Printed filament quality is significantly affected by the mass distribution at its corners. Although fruitful results have been obtained, a significant gap exists in systematically investigating the impact of comprehensive [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional cementitious material printing (3DCMP) enables structures with complex geometry to be fabricated. Printed filament quality is significantly affected by the mass distribution at its corners. Although fruitful results have been obtained, a significant gap exists in systematically investigating the impact of comprehensive parameters on this mass distribution. Therefore, the cross-section ratio Φ (Φ = So/Su) of the filament is proposed as a measurement to evaluate the mass distribution at corners. Then, the impacts of printing process parameters, including the tool path radius R, nozzle aspect ratio φ, and relative nozzle travel speed ζ, on the filament mass distribution are investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The flow mechanism is elaborated using CFD for cementitious material printing at corners. It was found that the material flow mechanism caused by the combined effects of the printing process parameters affects the filament mass distribution significantly. Some material spills out from the overfilled zone to the underfilled zone during the deposition process. Additionally, printing process windows were identified to ensure acceptable printing quality using a support vector machine (SVM). A new printing window is identified using transfer learning, which can save data resources compared to the SVM method. Finally, the experimental results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods in printing process window determination. Full article
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