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Frontiers in 3D and 4D Printing for Polymers and Polymeric Composites

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2022) | Viewed by 12267

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ana C. Pinho

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes (CEMMPRE), University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: 3D printing; 4D printing; polymeric materials; sandwich structures; mechanical properties; smart materials; biomaterials; polymer recycling

Prof. Dr. Ana Paula Piedade

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: processing technologies; additive manufacturing; biotic/abiotic interface; biomedical devices; cellular compatibility
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The research interest on additive manufacturing has been increasing over time since it offers unlimited possibilities concerning materials processing. Geometry freedom, processing speed and sustainability are, among others, the adjectives that contribute to the growing interest on 3D printing. The 3D printing processes, and technologies have turned the corner from rapid prototyping and several products produced by 3D printing are already in the market. Moreover, as a result of the developments in materials and technologies, 4D printing emerged to overcome the lack of conformational adaptability of the 3D printed components. The shape-morphing with time (4D), due to external stimuli, complements the freedom of complex geometric design of 3D printing with the shape memory of polymeric materials. Despite the fact that the application of 4D printed parts is still at a preliminary phase, the application options are limitless.

The goal of this special issue of Polymers is to disclose straightforward research on 3D and 4D printing using polymeric materials or polymeric based composites. The Special Issue will cover full papers, communications, and reviews in all aspects of 3D and 4D printing that provide new approaches to challenge the current barriers. The use of printing technologies with advanced materials can provide state-of-the-art disruptive breakthroughs for application in distinct research fields are welcomed.

Dr. Ana C. Pinho
Prof. Dr. Ana Paula Piedade
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. Polymers 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 2700 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 and 4D printing
polymeric materials
polymer composites
smart polymer-based materials
shape morphing
external stimulus
mechanical properties
thermal properties
polymer processing
3D printed sandwich structures
hybrid polymeric materials
shape fixity ratio
shape recovery ratio
number of cycles

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 15783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sterilization of PLA after Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printing: Evaluation on Inherent Sterility and the Impossibility of Autoclavation

by Jonas Neijhoft, Dirk Henrich, Andreas Kammerer, Maren Janko, Johannes Frank and Ingo Marzi

Polymers 2023, 15(2), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020369 - 10 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2108

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing, especially fused filament fabrication (FFF), offers great possibilities in (bio-)medical applications, but a major downside is the difficulty in sterilizing the produced parts. This study evaluates the questions of whether autoclaving is a possible solution for FFF-printed parts and if the printer itself could be seen as an inherent sterilization method. In a first step, an investigation was performed on the deformation of cylindrically shaped test parts after running them through the autoclaving process. Furthermore, the inherent sterility possibilities of the printing process itself were evaluated using culture medium sterility tests. It could be shown that, depending on the needed accuracy, parts down to a diameter of 5–10 mm can still be sterilized using autoclaving, while finer parts suffer from major deformations. For these, inherent sterilization of the printer itself is an option. During the printing process, over a certain contact time, heat at a higher level than that used in autoclaving is applied to the printed parts. The contact time, depending on the printing parameters, is calculated using the established formula. The results show that for stronger parts, autoclaving offers a cheap and good option for sterilization after FFF-printing. However, the inherent sterility possibilities of the printer itself can be considered, especially when printing with small layer heights for finer parts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in 3D and 4D Printing for Polymers and Polymeric Composites)

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16 pages, 4703 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

AI-Based Soft Module for Safe Human–Robot Interaction towards 4D Printing

by Ali Zolfagharian, Mohammad Reza Khosravani, Hoang Duong Vu, Minh Khoi Nguyen, Abbas Z. Kouzani and Mahdi Bodaghi

Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3302; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163302 - 13 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2525

Abstract

Soft robotic modules have potential use for therapeutic and educational purposes. To do so, they need to be safe, soft, smart, and customizable to serve individuals’ different preferences and personalities. A safe modular robotic product made of soft materials, particularly silicon, programmed by artificial intelligence algorithms and developed via additive manufacturing would be promising. This study focuses on the safe tactile interaction between humans and robots by means of soft material characteristics for translating physical communication to auditory. The embedded vibratory sensors used to stimulate touch senses transmitted through soft materials are presented. The soft module was developed and verified successfully to react to three different patterns of human–robot contact, particularly users’ touches, and then communicate the type of contact with sound. The study develops and verifies a model that can classify different tactile gestures via machine learning algorithms for safe human–robot physical interaction. The system accurately recognizes the gestures and shapes of three-dimensional (3D) printed soft modules. The gestures used for the experiment are the three most common, including slapping, squeezing, and tickling. The model builds on the concept of how safe human–robot physical interactions could help with cognitive and behavioral communication. In this context, the ability to measure, classify, and reflect the behavior of soft materials in robotic modules represents a prerequisite for endowing robotic materials in additive manufacturing for safe interaction with humans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in 3D and 4D Printing for Polymers and Polymeric Composites)

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Review

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27 pages, 8799 KiB

Open AccessReview

Progress of Polymer-Based Thermally Conductive Materials by Fused Filament Fabrication: A Comprehensive Review

by Zewei Cai, Naveen Thirunavukkarasu, Xuefeng Diao, Haoran Wang, Lixin Wu, Chen Zhang and Jianlei Wang

Polymers 2022, 14(20), 4297; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14204297 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2585

Abstract

With the miniaturization and integration of electronic products, the heat dissipation efficiency of electronic equipment needs to be further improved. Notably, polymer materials are a choice for electronic equipment matrices because of their advantages of low cost and wide application availability. However, the thermal conductivity of polymers is insufficient to meet heat dissipation requirements, and their improvements remain challenging. For decades, as an efficient manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing has gradually attracted public attention, and researchers have also used this technology to produce new thermally conductive polymer materials. Here, we review the recent research progress of different 3D printing technologies in heat conduction and the thermal conduction mechanism of polymer matrix composites. Based on the classification of fillers, the research progress of thermally conductive materials prepared by fused filament fabrication (FFF) is discussed. It analyzes the internal relationship between FFF process parameters and the thermal conductivity of polymer matrix composites. Finally, this study summarizes the application and future development direction of thermally conductive composites by FFF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in 3D and 4D Printing for Polymers and Polymeric Composites)

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22 pages, 3919 KiB

Open AccessReview

3D Printing of Polymeric Bioresorbable Stents: A Strategy to Improve Both Cellular Compatibility and Mechanical Properties

by Ana M. Sousa, Ana M. Amaro and Ana P. Piedade

Polymers 2022, 14(6), 1099; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14061099 - 9 Mar 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4078

Abstract

One of the leading causes of death is cardiovascular disease, and the most common cardiovascular disease is coronary artery disease. Percutaneous coronary intervention and vascular stents have emerged as a solution to treat coronary artery disease. Nowadays, several types of vascular stents share the same purpose: to reduce the percentage of restenosis, thrombosis, and neointimal hyperplasia and supply mechanical support to the blood vessels. Despite the numerous efforts to create an ideal stent, there is no coronary stent that simultaneously presents the appropriate cellular compatibility and mechanical properties to avoid stent collapse and failure. One of the emerging approaches to solve these problems is improving the mechanical performance of polymeric bioresorbable stents produced through additive manufacturing. Although there have been numerous studies in this field, normalized control parameters for 3D-printed polymeric vascular stents fabrication are absent. The present paper aims to present an overview of the current types of stents and the main polymeric materials used to fabricate the bioresorbable vascular stents. Furthermore, a detailed description of the printing parameters’ influence on the mechanical performance and degradation profile of polymeric bioresorbable stents is presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in 3D and 4D Printing for Polymers and Polymeric Composites)

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