3D printing technologies: techniques, materials, and post-processing

Additive manufacturing, or more commonly known as 3D printing, has been at the forefront of manufacturing research for the past couple decades. Many advances have occurred in the basic printing techniques, materials, and post-processing schemes. In recent years, there have been many critical developments in the field 3D printing, such as the development of volumetric 3D printing to increase the printing speed, composite 3D printing to create piezoelectric devices, and hydrogel structures highly similar to blood vessels. The spectrum of materials that can be printed has also increased, allowing researchers to print a variety of materials including live cells, modulus changing polymers and even spacecraft-grade metals.