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3D & 4D Printing—Metrological Problems

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2026 | Viewed by 2948

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Metrology and Unconventional Manufacturing Methods, Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, KUT—Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: 3D/4D printing; additive manufacturing; FDM/FFF; PJM; SLS; SLM; metrology; tribology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Metrology and Unconventional Manufacturing Methods, Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, KUT—Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: 3D/4D printing; mechanical properties of thin-walled models
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past 25 years, we have seen significant advancements in modern manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing. This applies to both new additive manufacturing technologies and materials. This contributes to increased dimensional accuracy of manufactured objects by improving the design of 3D printers and allows for the optimization of mechanical, tribological, and other functional characteristics. Current materials used in 3D printing include plastics, ceramics, and metals, including materials with highly advanced properties such as biocompatibility and shape memory. This development has led to the emergence of a new field of manufacturing technology called 4D printing. This method incorporates another, fourth dimension–time. The shape or properties of a structure can be modified through the implementation of 4D printing. Four-dimensional printing is a new manufacturing philosophy. Following the initial success of the Special Issue of Materials devoted to "3D and 4D Printing in Engineering Applications", both the first and second editions, we are pleased to present this new issue, thematically combining 3D/4D printing with modern metrological issues.

Additionally, this issue is a continuation of the annual conference: 3D 4D PRINTING-Metrological Problems. The conference is held on 17–19 September 2025, in Kielce, Poland in hybrid form.

SI journal will publish innovative research, review articles, and communications on modern additive manufacturing technologies and the materials used in them, including innovative measurement tools that address the realities of the industrial transformation towards Industry 4.0. An important aspect of 3D printing is the developing standardization process, which is also the focus of this Special Issue. The presented Special Issue aims at the publication of the results of both theoretical and experimental research, including research on the following areas:

  • 3D/4D printing;
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Unconventional manufacturing;
  • Metrology in 3D printing;
  • Surface texture analysis;
  • Quality of 3D/4D printed parts;
  • Tribology in 3D printing;
  • Mechanical properties investigation;
  • Thin-walled models
  • Cellular structures
  • Composites materials;
  • 3D/4D printing engineering applications;
  • 3D printing in Industry 4.0 and 5.0;
  • Robotics in 3D printing;
  • Novel 3D printing systems;
  • Review of progress in 3D/4D printing;
  • Manufacturing problems;
  • Machining of 3D printed elements;
  • Process control;
  • Simulation analysis.

Prof. Dr. Tomasz Kozior
Dr. Jerzy Bochnia
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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • 3D/4D printing
  • thin-walled models
  • cellular structures
  • metrology
  • unconventional manufacturing
  • Industry 4.0
  • process control
  • tribology
  • composites materials
  • polymers in 3D printing
  • simulation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 7573 KB  
Article
Continuous Filament Fabrication Technology and Its Mechanical Properties for Thin-Walled Component
by Tomasz Kozior, Jerzy Bochnia, Jiri Hajnys and Jakub Mesicek
Materials 2026, 19(1), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19010144 - 31 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 663
Abstract
The aim of the presented research is to assess the possibility of manufacturing thin-walled models using innovative 3D printing technology and to determine limitations. This article presents the results of tensile tests of the Continuous Filament Fabrication (CFF) technology for thin-walled sample models. [...] Read more.
The aim of the presented research is to assess the possibility of manufacturing thin-walled models using innovative 3D printing technology and to determine limitations. This article presents the results of tensile tests of the Continuous Filament Fabrication (CFF) technology for thin-walled sample models. Two types of materials were tested. The first material is pure ONYX based on polyamide, and the second is ONYX with an additional core made of carbon fiber. The paper presents the limitations of using the core in thin-walled structures, and for pure ONYX material, samples were made with different orientations on the 3D printer platform, which allowed determining the effect of the printing direction on the mechanical properties of the samples. In addition, microscopic photographs of the fracture of the broken samples were taken in the paper, based on which the defects of the technological process were identified. It was shown that the strength of thin-walled samples (1 mm, 1.4 mm, and 1.8 mm thick) printed in the Y direction is significantly greater than that of samples printed in the X and Z directions. For example, for 1 mm thick samples printed in the Y direction, the strength is 49.02 MPa, while for samples printed in the X and Z directions, it is 27.71 MPa and 21.28 MPa, respectively. The strength of samples (4 mm thick) reinforced with ONYX + OCF carbon fiber printed in the X direction is 191.36% greater than that of samples made of pure ONYX. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D & 4D Printing—Metrological Problems)
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15 pages, 7709 KB  
Article
Effect of Print Orientation on the Tribological Behavior of a Steel Powder-Modified Thermoplastic
by Krystyna Radoń-Kobus and Paweł Szczygieł
Materials 2026, 19(1), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19010132 - 30 Dec 2025
Viewed by 351
Abstract
This article presents the results of research on a composite filament made of a thermoplastic polymer with the addition of steel powder, used to produce samples using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology. Samples were printed with different print orientations (0° and [...] Read more.
This article presents the results of research on a composite filament made of a thermoplastic polymer with the addition of steel powder, used to produce samples using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology. Samples were printed with different print orientations (0° and 90°) to assess the effect of print direction on mechanical and tribological properties. Sample hardness was tested using the Shore D method. Wettability was determined by measuring the contact angle using an optical tensiometer. Tribological wear tests were conducted using the ball-on-disk method. During the tests, the friction coefficient was recorded, and the wear traces were analyzed using an optical microscope. Friction-wear tests were conducted under dry friction conditions and with a physiological saline solution. The obtained results allowed for determining the relationship between print orientation and the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the analyzed composite material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D & 4D Printing—Metrological Problems)
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19 pages, 5492 KB  
Article
Influence of Printing Orientation on Tensile Strength and Surface Characterization of a Steel-Powder-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite Manufactured by FDM Technology
by Paweł Szczygieł and Krystyna Radoń-Kobus
Materials 2025, 18(24), 5656; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18245656 - 17 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 661
Abstract
This study presents results on a thermoplastic polymer composite containing 95 wt.% steel powder, processed into samples using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Such a high filler loading exceeds the values commonly reported in the literature. Samples were printed with different build orientations [...] Read more.
This study presents results on a thermoplastic polymer composite containing 95 wt.% steel powder, processed into samples using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Such a high filler loading exceeds the values commonly reported in the literature. Samples were printed with different build orientations (0° and 90°) to evaluate the influence of printing direction on the tensile behavior of the material. Tensile tests were conducted to determine the effect of printing orientation on the composite’s strength. Additionally, surface structure analysis was performed using a contact profilometer, and wettability was evaluated by measuring the contact angle with a tensiometer. Dimensional measurements were also carried out using a digital caliper. The obtained results allowed determination of the relationship between printing orientation and the tensile and surface-related properties of the analyzed composite material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D & 4D Printing—Metrological Problems)
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Graphical abstract

27 pages, 14954 KB  
Article
The Influence of Model Orientation on the Surface Roughness of Polymeric Models Produced by FFF, mSLA, PJ, and SLS Methods
by Anna Bazan, Paweł Turek, Grzegorz Budzik, Piotr Niesłony, Roman Grygoruk and Przemysław Siemiński
Materials 2025, 18(24), 5600; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18245600 - 12 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 863
Abstract
The research methodology involved creating a 3D sample model that featured both flat and cylindrical surfaces inclined at angles ranging from 0° to 90° relative to the XY plane. The study investigated the surface topography of additively manufactured samples produced using various technologies, [...] Read more.
The research methodology involved creating a 3D sample model that featured both flat and cylindrical surfaces inclined at angles ranging from 0° to 90° relative to the XY plane. The study investigated the surface topography of additively manufactured samples produced using various technologies, including Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), masked Stereolithography (mSLA), PolyJet (PJ), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). The focus was on how material type, print angle, and measurement location influenced the results. The materials used in the study included PLA, PETG, acrylic resins, PA2200, and VeroClear. Due to the optical properties of the materials used, measurements were carried out on replicas that were prepared using a RepliSet F5 silicone compound from Struers. Consequently, a methodology was developed for measuring surface roughness using the Alicona microscope based on these replicas. A 10× objective lens was used during the measurements, and the pixel size was 0.88 µm × 0.88 µm. Each time, an area of approximately 1 mm × 4 mm was measured. The lowest roughness values were observed for mSLA samples (Sa = 6.72–8.54 µm, Spk + Sk + Svk = 33.36–42.16 µm), whereas SLS exhibited the highest roughness (Sa = 27.86 µm, Spk + Sk + Svk = 183.79 µm). PJ samples exhibited intermediate roughness with significant anisotropy (Sa = 11.65 µm, Spk + Sk + Svk = 72.1 µm), which was strongly influenced by the print angle. FFF surfaces showed directional patterns and layer-dependent roughness, with the Sa parameter being the same (12.44 µm) for both PETG and PLA materials. The steepest slopes were observed for SLS surfaces (Sdq = 7.67), while mSLA exhibited the flattest microstructure (Sdq = 0.48–0.89). Statistical analysis confirmed that material type significantly influenced topography in mSLA, while print angle strongly affected PJ and FFF (although for FFF, further studies would be beneficial). The results of the research conducted can be used to develop a methodology for optimizing the printing process to achieve the required geometric surface structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D & 4D Printing—Metrological Problems)
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