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Polymers
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Latest Progress in the Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Materials
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Latest Progress in the Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 October 2025) | Viewed by 3060

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Geoffrey R. Mitchell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Institute Polytechnic of Leiria, Rua de Portugal, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal
Interests: additive manufacturing; X-ray and neutron scattering coupled to operando experiments durng polymer processing ; functional materials; including electrically conductive polymers and liquid crystal elastomers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Manoj K. Patel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh 160030, India
2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
Interests: additive manufacturing; 3D food printing; food safety and nutrition; engineered materials; energy storage devices; aerial spraying; electrostatic surface decontamination; environmental pollution and smog control; automation and mechanization in agriculture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive technology has emerged in recent years as a major technology in the manufacturing process of polymer-based materials. Existing prototyping technologies have been updated and greatly expanded in terms of materials, product size, and fabrication speed, aiming to uncover all advantages of a fully digital manufacturing process. This Special Issue is focused on papers addressing technological developments towards digital manufacturing systems, including biomaterials,  design,  new materials, manufacturing technologies, digital twin technology, machine learning, and other optimisation procedures. New applications of additive manufacturing are particularly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Geoffrey R. Mitchell
Dr. Manoj K. Patel
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. 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

  • large-scale additive manufacturing
  • digitalisation of polymers
  • machine learning
  • digital twins
  • biomaterials for additive manufacturing
  • novel polymers for additive manufacturing

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8164 KB  
Article
Development and Characterization of a Biodegradable Radiopaque PLA/Gd2O3 Filament for Bone-Equivalent Phantom Produced via Fused Filament Fabrication
by Özkan Özmen and Sena Dursun
Polymers 2025, 17(23), 3193; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17233193 - 30 Nov 2025
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) has rapidly evolved due to its design flexibility, ability to enable personalized fabrication, and reduced material waste. In the medical field, fused filament fabrication (FFF) facilitates the production of individualized anatomical models for surgical preparation, education, medical imaging, and calibration. [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing (AM) has rapidly evolved due to its design flexibility, ability to enable personalized fabrication, and reduced material waste. In the medical field, fused filament fabrication (FFF) facilitates the production of individualized anatomical models for surgical preparation, education, medical imaging, and calibration. However, the lack of filaments with X-ray attenuation similar to that of biological hard tissues limits their use in radiological imaging. To address this limitation, a radiopaque filament was developed by incorporating gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) into a biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix at 1, 3, and 5 wt.%. Thermal and rheological properties were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and melt flow index (MFI) analyses, revealing minor variations that did not affect printability under standard FFF conditions (200 °C nozzle, 60 °C build plate, 0.12 mm layer height). Microstructural analysis via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) confirmed homogeneous Gd2O3 dispersion without nozzle blockage. Radiopacity was evaluated using gyroid infill cubes, and increasing Gd2O3 content enhanced X-ray attenuation, with 3 wt.% Gd2O3 reaching Hounsfield Unit (HU) values comparable to cortical bone. Finally, the L1 vertebra phantom fabricated from the 3 wt.% Gd2O3 filament exhibited mean HU values of approximately +200 to +250 HU at 50% infill density (trabecular bone region) and around +1000 HU at 100% infill density (cortical bone region), demonstrating the filament’s potential for producing cost-effective, radiopaque, and biodegradable phantoms for computed tomography (CT) imaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Progress in the Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Materials)
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19 pages, 3492 KB  
Article
Physics-Based Predictive Modeling of Gravity-Induced Sagging in Support-Free Pellet Additive Manufacturing
by Alessio Pricci
Polymers 2025, 17(21), 2858; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17212858 - 27 Oct 2025
Viewed by 563
Abstract
The fabrication of support-free structures in pellet additive manufacturing (PAM) is severely limited by gravity-induced sagging, a phenomenon lacking predictive, physics-based models. This study introduces and validates a numerical model for the thermofluid dynamics of sagging, aiming to correlate process parameters with filament [...] Read more.
The fabrication of support-free structures in pellet additive manufacturing (PAM) is severely limited by gravity-induced sagging, a phenomenon lacking predictive, physics-based models. This study introduces and validates a numerical model for the thermofluid dynamics of sagging, aiming to correlate process parameters with filament deflection. A predictive finite element (FE) model incorporating temperature-dependent non-Newtonian material properties and heat transfer dynamics has been developed. This was validated via a systematic experimental study on a desktop-scale PAM 3D printer investigating nozzle temperature, printhead speed, screw speed and fan cooling, using polylactic acid (PLA) as a printing material. Findings show that process parameter optimization can reduce bridge deflection by 64.91%, with active fan cooling being the most dominant factor due to accelerated solidification. Increased printhead speed reduced sagging, whereas higher screw speeds and extrusion temperature showed the opposite effect. The FE model accurately replicated these results and further revealed that sagging ceases once the filament cools below its minimum flow temperature (approximately 150–160 °C for PLA). This validated model provides a robust foundation for tuning process parameters, unlocking effective support-free 3D printing in PAM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Progress in the Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Materials)
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29 pages, 2673 KB  
Article
Process Parameters Optimization and Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Ankle–Foot Orthoses Based on Polypropylene
by Sahar Swesi, Mohamed Yousfi, Nicolas Tardif and Abder Banoune
Polymers 2025, 17(14), 1921; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141921 - 11 Jul 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Nowadays, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing offers promising opportunities for the customized manufacturing of ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) targeted towards rehabilitation purposes. Polypropylene (PP) represents an ideal candidate in orthotic applications due to its light weight and superior mechanical properties, offering an excellent [...] Read more.
Nowadays, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing offers promising opportunities for the customized manufacturing of ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) targeted towards rehabilitation purposes. Polypropylene (PP) represents an ideal candidate in orthotic applications due to its light weight and superior mechanical properties, offering an excellent balance between flexibility, chemical resistance, biocompatibility, and long-term durability. However, Additive Manufacturing (AM) of AFOs based on PP remains a major challenge due to its limited bed adhesion and high shrinkage, especially for making large parts such as AFOs. The primary innovation of the present study lies in the optimization of FFF 3D printing parameters for the fabrication of functional, patient-specific orthoses using PP, a material still underutilized in the AM of medical devices. Firstly, a thorough thermomechanical characterization was conducted, allowing the implementation of a (thermo-)elastic material model for the used PP filament. Thereafter, a Taguchi design of experiments (DOE) was established to study the influence of several printing parameters (extrusion temperature, printing speed, layer thickness, infill density, infill pattern, and part orientation) on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed specimens. Three-point bending tests were conducted to evaluate the strength and stiffness of the samples, while additional tensile tests were performed on the 3D-printed orthoses using a home-made innovative device to validate the optimal configurations. The results showed that the maximum flexural modulus of 3D-printed specimens was achieved when the printing speed was around 50 mm/s. The most significant parameter for mechanical performance and reduction in printing time was shown to be infill density, contributing 73.2% to maximum stress and 75.2% to Interlaminar Shear Strength (ILSS). Finally, the applicability of the finite element method (FEM) to simulate the FFF process-induced deflections, part distortion (warpage), and residual stresses in 3D-printed orthoses was investigated using a numerical simulation tool (Digimat-AM®). The combination of Taguchi DOE with Digimat-AM for polypropylene AFOs highlighted that the 90° orientation appeared to be the most suitable configuration, as it minimizes deformation and von Mises stress, ensuring improved quality and robustness of the printed orthoses. The findings from this study contribute by providing a reliable method for printing PP parts with improved mechanical performance, thereby opening new opportunities for its use in medical-grade additive manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Progress in the Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Materials)
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