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J. Compos. Sci.
Special Issues
3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites
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3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Composites Manufacturing and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 3979

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alessio Vita

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departmente of Mathematical Science and Industrial Engineering, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60121 Ancona, Italy
Interests: sustainability; life cycle assessment; additive manufacturing; composite materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Iacopo Bianchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departmente of Mathematical Science and Industrial Engineering, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60121 Ancona, Italy
Interests: reinforced plastic; carbon fiber; ultimate tensile strength; composites; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

3D printing and composite additive manufacturing are reshaping industries, such as aerospace, automotive, and healthcare, by enabling the creation of lightweight, complex, and high-performance structures. The fusion of additive manufacturing with composite materials enhances strength, durability, and thermal properties, offering new opportunities for innovation. This Special Issue focuses on the latest advancements, challenges, and applications in this dynamic field, providing a platform for researchers and practitioners to share cutting-edge developments.

This Special Issue aims to explore breakthroughs in 3D printing and composite additive manufacturing, emphasizing material innovations, improved processes, and practical applications. It aligns with the journal’s scope by addressing the scientific and technological challenges of modern manufacturing. The goal is to gather at least 10 high-quality articles to further our understanding of this fast-growing field. If successful, the collection may also be published in book form.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: novel composite materials for additive manufacturing; innovations in 3D printing processes; mechanical properties and testing of 3D-printed composites; applications in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare; sustainability in composite additive manufacturing; hybrid and multi-material 3D printing.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Alessio Vita
Dr. Iacopo Bianchi
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Journal of Composites Science 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 1800 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

  • composite materials
  • 3D printing
  • additive manufacturing
  • sustainability
  • LCA
  • CFRP
  • impact assessment
  • carbon footprint
  • testing

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

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4849 KB  
Article
Loading Rate Influence on Delamination Behavior of Reinforced ENF Specimens by Additively Manufactured Interlayer
by Mazaher Salamat-Talab, Hossein Kazemi, Alireza Akhavan-Safar and Lucas F. M. da Silva
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(9), 494; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9090494 - 11 Sep 2025
Viewed by 362
Abstract
Laminated composites have distinct mechanical properties that suit various industries. However, varying loading rates during their service life increase their vulnerability to one of their main weaknesses, delamination. Moreover, some interlayers that are used to improve delamination resistance are (often) limited, expensive, and [...] Read more.
Laminated composites have distinct mechanical properties that suit various industries. However, varying loading rates during their service life increase their vulnerability to one of their main weaknesses, delamination. Moreover, some interlayers that are used to improve delamination resistance are (often) limited, expensive, and pollute the environment. Therefore, in this study, the performance of additively manufactured organic wood/PLA interlayers was examined in terms of the mode II interlaminar fracture toughness (ILFT) of glass/epoxy composites under 1, 50, and 100 mm/min loading rates, aiming to address these challenges. The experimental findings showed that in non-interleaved specimens, increasing the loading rate improved delamination resistance, primarily because of the distributed shear hackles across the delamination surfaces. However, incorporating 3D-printed interlayers improved ILFT by 76% (at 1 mm/min) and 23% (at 50 mm/min), compared to counterparts without interlayers, driven by synergistic mechanisms, including crack arrest and shear hackle. In contrast, a loading rate of 100 mm/min resulted in a reduction in ILFT of interleaved specimens compared to their counterparts without interlayers due to the inherent brittleness of the interlayers. Also, fractography analyses revealed that shear hackles were the primary fracture feature in all tested conditions. However, in interleaved specimens, an additional mechanism, filament breakage, became evident. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites)
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13 pages, 2302 KB  
Article
Controlling the Ductile/Fragile Behavior of a 3D-Printed PLA-BaTiO3 Biocomposite by PBS Addition
by Paul Burel, Mohamed Ragoubi, Pierre Millet, Sébastien Alix and Richard Gattin
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(9), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9090491 - 9 Sep 2025
Viewed by 373
Abstract
The demand for patient-specific medicine is steadily increasing, particularly with the need for innovative materials capable not only of supporting tissue regeneration but also accelerating it. The aim of this study was to develop a new printable composite material exhibiting ductile behavior, in [...] Read more.
The demand for patient-specific medicine is steadily increasing, particularly with the need for innovative materials capable not only of supporting tissue regeneration but also accelerating it. The aim of this study was to develop a new printable composite material exhibiting ductile behavior, in contrast to brittle failure, in order to support cell growth even under structural compromise. PBS was selected as a blending component with PLA due to its enhanced biocompatibility for bone tissue regeneration. Both neat PLA and the PLA/PBS blend were subsequently combined with BaTiO3, processed into filaments, 3D printed, and subjected to mechanical testing. PLA-based composites demonstrated higher stiffness under compression, with up to a 6.5% increase in Young’s modulus compared to the blended samples. However, the incorporation of PBS resulted in a more ductile response, as evidenced by three-point bending tests, even at BaTiO3 concentrations of 10 wt%. This improved ductility is expected to provide safer conditions for cell growth and enable elastic recovery following mechanical loading. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites)
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20 pages, 5358 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Tensile Properties of 3D-Printed PA12 Composites with Short Carbon Fiber Reinforcement: Experimental and Machine Learning-Based Predictive Modelling
by Guangwu Fang, Yangchen Li, Xiangyu Zhao and Jiaxiang Chen
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(9), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9090461 - 1 Sep 2025
Viewed by 510
Abstract
The present study investigates the tensile properties of 3D-printed PA12 composites reinforced with short carbon fibers, focusing on the impact of printing parameters on material performance. We employed both experimental testing and machine learning-based predictive modeling to evaluate the influence of layer thickness, [...] Read more.
The present study investigates the tensile properties of 3D-printed PA12 composites reinforced with short carbon fibers, focusing on the impact of printing parameters on material performance. We employed both experimental testing and machine learning-based predictive modeling to evaluate the influence of layer thickness, extrusion width, and raster angles on failure stress, failure strain, and stress–strain curves. Four machine learning models, including Gaussian process regression (GPR), gradient boosting regression (GBR), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN), were developed and trained on the experimental data. The results indicated that ANN and GPR models outperformed RF and GBR in predicting mechanical properties, with ANN demonstrating the highest accuracy across all tasks. A SHAP analysis was conducted to interpret the models, revealing that raster angles significantly influence failure stress predictions, while extrusion width predominantly affects failure strain predictions. The ability of the models to predict entire stress–strain curves provides a comprehensive understanding of the material’s mechanical behavior, which is crucial for applications requiring detailed material response data. This study highlights the potential of machine learning models, particularly ANN, in predicting the tensile properties of 3D-printed composites. The findings offer valuable insights for optimizing the 3D printing process to achieve desired material characteristics and pave the way for further research in integrating these predictive tools into additive manufacturing workflows for real-time optimization and quality control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites)
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12 pages, 13780 KB  
Article
Additive Manufacturing of Composite Structures with Transverse Thermoelectricity
by Weixiao Gao, Shuai Yu, Buntong Tan and Fei Ren
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(7), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9070344 - 2 Jul 2025
Viewed by 560
Abstract
This study investigates the application of additive manufacturing (AM) in fabricating transverse thermoelectric (TTE) composites, demonstrating the feasibility of this methodology for TTE material synthesis. Zinc oxide (ZnO), a wide-bandgap semiconductor with moderate thermoelectric performance, and copper (Cu), a highly conductive metal, were [...] Read more.
This study investigates the application of additive manufacturing (AM) in fabricating transverse thermoelectric (TTE) composites, demonstrating the feasibility of this methodology for TTE material synthesis. Zinc oxide (ZnO), a wide-bandgap semiconductor with moderate thermoelectric performance, and copper (Cu), a highly conductive metal, were selected as base materials. These were formulated into stable paste-like feedstocks for direct ink writing (DIW). A custom dual-nozzle 3D printer was developed to precisely deposit these materials in pre-designed architectures. The resulting structures exhibited measurable transverse Seebeck effects. Unlike prior TE research primarily focused on longitudinal configurations, this work demonstrates a novel AM-enabled strategy that integrates directional compositional anisotropy, embedded metal–semiconductor interfaces, and scalable multi-material printing to realize TTE behavior. The approach offers a cost-effective and programmable pathway toward next-generation energy harvesting and thermal management systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites)
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Review

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15 pages, 18343 KB  
Review
Sustainable Cooling, Layer by Layer, Shaping Magnetic Regenerators via Additive Manufacturing
by Vaibhav Sharma, Krishbold Bhandari and Radhika Barua
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(3), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9030114 - 27 Feb 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1530
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing magnetic heat pumping technology by enabling the design and production of highly optimized, customizable components that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation in thermal management systems. This review highlights recent advances in AM for magnetocaloric materials, emphasizing [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing magnetic heat pumping technology by enabling the design and production of highly optimized, customizable components that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation in thermal management systems. This review highlights recent advances in AM for magnetocaloric materials, emphasizing its role in fabricating heat exchange structures with complex geometries and unique microstructures to enhance thermal and magnetic performance. Key AM techniques, including material extrusion, binder jetting, laser powder bed fusion, and directed energy deposition, are compared, with an in-depth discussion of critical challenges such as achieving precise material composition, controlling porosity, and maintaining phase stability. Finally, the review offers guidelines for future research to overcome these challenges. These innovations are essential for transitioning from laboratory demonstrations to real-world applications, paving the way for sustainable cooling solutions that could replace traditional gas compression systems on an industrial scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Composites)
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