3D Printing Applications in Agriculture, Food Processing, and Environmental Protection and Monitoring

Application of three-dimensional (3D) printing is widely being applied from various fields of studies from mechanical manufacturing to civil constructions. Food is considered an essential factor for human survival. Modern day’s humans are considering food not only for survival but for other qualitative attributes and characteristic properties as well. With the development of 3D printing technologies, it is now possible to print with almost any kind of materials, including organics. This technological development had empowered the new generation food technologists/engineers to print almost all types of foods from chocolate to pizza, of desired characters, shape, size, color, texture, and other properties of interest. Foods with customized nutritional characteristics, lowered production price and processing time are various interesting applications of 3D printing for future foods. Decorated cakes and cookies and customized mobile-based 3D food printing applications, including the real-time printed picture of customers placing the food orders, make the future of food processing quite astonishing. 3D printing provides a wider platform for the food innovators to work more intensely on the new food product developments 52with much complex geometry that manually would be near to impossible. This chapter targets to provide information to the readers about various aspects of 3D printing in food processing, technological development for 3D food printing, and about different printable food component mixtures and recipes. Last part of the chapter discusses briefly the limitations and future scope of 3D food printing keeping in mind the future human needs and requirements.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is an amazing innovation with a wide range of uses in intelligent agriculture and food processing. Along with adjustable farming equipment and autonomous agricultural instruments like drones and robots, it offers real-time data on plant health, nutrient levels, and soil state. 3D printing has reinvented food processing by enabling personalized nutrition solutions, particularly in the field of medicinal nutrition. It also makes it possible to alter the textures and structures of food, creating novel sensory experiences and better-quality goods. 3D printing contributes to sustainable food production by reducing food waste (10–30 %) and using alternative protein sources. According to the study, AI and 3D-assisted IoT sensors can help increase yield by 10 % to 15 % while significantly reducing crop deterioration. They can also help reduce water usage by 20 % to 25 %, labor requirements by 20 % to 30 %, and overall power consumption by 20 %. However, high costs, complex technical and design knowledge, and limitations on production speed and scale are obstacles to broader use. It's also necessary to handle safety and regulatory concerns. 3D printing has a promising future in various fields thanks to advancements in bioprinting, multifunctional materials, blockchain, and artificial intelligence integration. These advancements could boost 3D printing's potential and result in higher output, more sustainable practices, and higher-quality products.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is an advanced imaging technique that captures detailed spectral information across multiple fields. This review explores its applications in counterfeit detection, remote sensing, agriculture, medical imaging, cancer detection, environmental monitoring, mining, mineralogy, and food processing, specifically highlighting significant achievements from the past five years, providing a timely update across several fields. It also presents a cross-disciplinary classification framework to systematically categorize applications in medical, agriculture, environment, and industry. In counterfeit detection, HSI identified fake currency with high accuracy in the 400–500 nm range and achieved a 99.03% F1-score for counterfeit alcohol detection. Remote sensing applications include hyperspectral satellites, which improve forest classification accuracy by 50%, and soil organic matter, with the prediction reaching R2 = 0.6. In agriculture, the HSI-TransUNet model achieved 86.05% accuracy for crop classification, and disease detection reached 98.09% accuracy. Medical imaging benefits from HSI’s non-invasive diagnostics, distinguishing skin cancer with 87% sensitivity and 88% specificity. In cancer detection, colorectal cancer identification reached 86% sensitivity and 95% specificity. Environmental applications include PM2.5 pollution detection with 85.93% accuracy and marine plastic waste detection with 70–80% accuracy. In food processing, egg freshness prediction achieved R2 = 91%, and pine nut classification reached 100% accuracy. Despite its advantages, HSI faces challenges like high costs and complex data processing. Advances in artificial intelligence and miniaturization are expected to improve accessibility and real-time applications. Future advancements are anticipated to concentrate on the integration of deep learning models for automated feature extraction and decision-making in hyperspectral imaging analysis. The development of lightweight, portable HSI devices will enable more on-site applications in agriculture, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. Moreover, real-time processing methods will enhance efficiency for field deployment. These improvements seek to enhance the accessibility, practicality, and efficacy of HSI in both industrial and clinical environments.

The emerging role of 3D printing in water desalination

Additionally known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, additive manufacturing has made major advancements possible in the fields of engineering, business, the arts, education, and medical. Thanks to recent developments, it is now possible to print three-dimensional to create complex, useful living tissues, biocompatible substances, cells, and supporting structures are combined. Regenerative medicine is utilizing 3D bioprinting. Additive manufacturing technology, or 3D printing, has been labelled the “next big thing” and is predicted to overtake cell phones in popularity. 3D printers use digital templates to produce actual, three-dimensional items. Adding layers to a print, commonly referred to as additive manufacturing, allows for the use of more than a hundred different materials, including nylon, metal, and plastic. Applications for 3D printing can be found in many different industries, such as industrial design, manufacturing, dental, automotive, aerospace, civil engineering, education, jewellery, footwear, and geographic information systems. It has shown to be a simple and affordable solution for a variety of use cases. Using computer-aided design tools and programming, three-dimensional printing is a sophisticated technique that adds material to a base surface to create three-dimensional things. Additive layer manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing, is the technique of creating three-dimensional things by depositing or solidifying material one layer at a time. Using a computer-aided design module, pharmaceutical components are organized in a three-dimensional pattern. Afterwards, the constituents are converted into a machine-readable format resembling the surface of a three-dimensional dosage form. 3D printing has been used for jewelry, shoe-making, architecture, engineering & construction, the automotive industry as well as the aerospace field, dentistry and medicine, plus geographic information systems (GIS), civil engineering and education. After that stage of the process is completed, the surface transferred to the machine is then printed in different layers. Bioprinting is an interdisciplinary domain that integrates additive manufacturing with biology and material sciences to manufacture threedimensional structures representative of living organisms. The ability to create biological tissues and organs has attracted considerable attention in biomedical research owing to the rising demand for personalized medicine. This scenario propelled bioprinting forward which received much interest thus triggering comprehensive research efforts by various players such as companies, universities as well as research institutes. The goal of this book is to provide a thorough analysis of the complex and rapidly evolving field of bioprinting by critically analyzing and evaluating the existing scientific literature.

Is This the Future of Medical Technology?

3D printing is an innovation that promises to revolutionize food formulation and manufacturing processes. Preparing foods with customized sensory attributes from different ingredients and additives has always been a need. The competency that additive manufacturing offers has been among the key reasons for its success in food processing applications. In this work, an up-to-date review on insight into the properties of printing material supplies and its effect on printing processes is presented. A detailed note on the globalization of customized printed foods, personalized nutrition, and applications in food packaging to highlight the range of applications of 3D printing in the food industry is also given. Importantly, key challenges in 3D food printing, emphasizing the need for future research in this field are elaborated.

Spine surgery entails a wide spectrum of complicated pathologies. Over the years, numerous assistive tools have been introduced to the modern neurosurgeon's armamentarium including neuronavigation and visualization technologies. In this review, we aimed to summarize the available data on 3D printing applications in spine surgery as well as an assessment of the future implications of 3D printing. We performed a comprehensive review of the literature on 3D printing applications in spine surgery. Over the past decade, 3D printing and additive manufacturing applications, which allow for increased precision and customizability, have gained significant traction, particularly spine surgery. 3D printing applications in spine surgery were initially limited to preoperative visualization, as 3D printing had been primarily used to produce preoperative models of patient-specific deformities or spinal tumors. More recently, 3D printing has been used intraoperatively in the form of 3D customizable implants and personalized screw guides. Despite promising preliminary results, the applications of 3D printing are so recent that the available data regarding these new technologies in spine surgery remains scarce, especially data related to long-term outcomes.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technology used to create complex 3D structures out of a digital model that can be almost any shape. Additive manufacturing allows the creation of customized, finely detailed constructs. Improvements in 3D printing, increased 3D printer availability, decreasing costs, development of biomaterials, and improved cell culture techniques have enabled complex, novel, and customized medical applications to develop. There have been rapid development and utilization of 3D printing technologies in orthopedics, dentistry, urology, reconstructive surgery, and other health care areas. Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) is an emerging application field for 3D printing. This technology can be utilized in OBGYN for preventive medicine, early diagnosis, and timely treatment of women-and-fetus-specific health issues. Moreover, 3D printed simulations of surgical procedures enable the training of physicians according to the needs of any given procedure. Herein, we summarize the technology and materials behind additive manufacturing and review the most recent advancements in the application of 3D printing in OBGYN studies, such as diagnosis, surgical planning, training, simulation, and customized prosthesis. Furthermore, we aim to give a future perspective on the integration of 3D printing and OBGYN applications and to provide insight into the potential applications.

In recent years additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, it is becoming increasingly widespread and used also in the medical and biomedical field [1]. 3D printing is a technology that allows to print, in plastic or other material, solid objects of any shape from its digital model. The printing process takes place by overlapping layers of material corresponding to cross sections of the final product. The 3D models can be created de novo, with a 3D modeling software, or it is possible to replicate an existing object with the use of a 3D scanner. In the past years, the development of appropriate software packages allowed to generate 3D printable anatomical models from computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound scans [2,3]. Up to now there have been 3D printed objects of nearly any size (from nanostructures to buildings) and material. Plastics, metals, ceramics, graphene and even derivatives of human tissues. The so-called “bio-printers”, in fact, allow to print one above the other thin layers of cells immersed in a gelatinous matrix. Recent advances of 3D bioprinting enabled researchers to print biocompatible scaffolds and human tissues such as skin, bone, cartilage, vessels and are driving to the design and 3D printing of artificial organs like liver and kidney [4]. Dentistry, prosthetics, craniofacial reconstructive surgery, neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery are among the disciplines that have already shown versatility and possible applications of 3D printing in adults and children [2,5]. Only a few experiences have instead been reported in newborn and infants. 3D printed individualized bioresorbable airway splints have been used for the treatment of three infants with severe tracheobronchomalacia, ensuring resolution of pulmonary and extrapulmonary symptoms [6,7]. A 3D model of a complex congenital heart defects have been used for preoperative planning of intraoperative procedures, allowing surgeons to repair a complex defect in a single intervention [8]. As already shown for children with obstructive sleep apnea and craniofacial anomalies [9]. personalized 3D printed masks could improve CPAP effectiveness and comfort also in term and preterm neonates. Neonatal emergency transport services and rural hospitals could also benefit from this technology, making possible to print medical devices spare parts, surgical and medical instruments wherever not readily available. It is envisaged that 3D printing, in the next future, will give its contribute toward the individualization of neonatal care, although further multidisciplinary studies are still needed to evaluate safety, possible applications and realize its full potential.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, including 3D mortar printing (3DMP), 3D concrete printing (3DCP), and Liquid Deposition Modeling (LDM), offer significant advantages in construction. They reduce project time, costs, and resource requirements while enabling free design possibilities and automating construction processes, thereby reducing workplace accidents. However, AM faces challenges in achieving superior mechanical performance compared to traditional methods due to poor interlayer bonding and material anisotropies. This study aims to enhance structural properties in AM constructions by embedding 3D-printed polymeric meshes in clay-based mortars. Clay-based materials are chosen for their environmental benefits. The study uses meshes with optimal geometry from the literature, printed with three widely used polymeric materials in 3D printing applications (PLA, ABS, and PETG). To reinforce the mechanical properties of the printed specimens, the meshes were strategically placed in the interlayer direction during the 3D printing process. The results show that the 3D-printed specimens with meshes have improved flexural strength, validating the successful integration of these reinforcements.

The three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogel is an issue of interest in various applications to build optimized 3D structured devices beyond 2D-shaped conventional structures such as film or mesh. The materials design for the hydrogel, as well as the resulting rheological properties, largely affect its applicability in extrusion-based 3D printing. Here, we prepared a new poly(acrylic acid)-based self-healing hydrogel by controlling the hydrogel design factors based on a defined material design window in terms of rheological properties for application in extrusion-based 3D printing. The hydrogel is designed with a poly(acrylic acid) main chain with a 1.0 mol% covalent crosslinker and 2.0 mol% dynamic crosslinker, and is successfully prepared based on radical polymerization utilizing ammonium persulfate as a thermal initiator. With the prepared poly(acrylic acid)-based hydrogel, self-healing characteristics, rheological characteristics, and 3D printing applicability are deeply investigated. The hydrogel spontaneously heals mechanical damage within 30 min and exhibits appropriate rheological characteristics, including G′~1075 Pa and tan δ~0.12, for extrusion-based 3D printing. Upon application in 3D printing, various 3D structures of hydrogel were successfully fabricated without showing structural deformation during the 3D printing process. Furthermore, the 3D-printed hydrogel structures exhibited excellent dimensional accuracy of the printed shape compared to the designed 3D structure.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the applications of 3D printing in space sectors. The authors have highlighted the potential research gap that can be explored in the current field of study. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing technique that uses metallic powder, ceramic or polymers to build simple/complex parts. The parts produced possess good strength, low weight and excellent mechanical properties and are cost-effective. Therefore, efforts have been made to make the adoption of 3D printing successful in space so that complex parts can be manufactured in space. This saves a considerable amount of both time and carrying cost. Thereof the challenges and opportunities that the space sector holds for additive manufacturing is worth reviewing to provide a better insight into further developments and prospects for this technology.Design/methodology/approachThe potentiality of 3D printing for the manufacturing of various components under space conditions has been explained. Here, the authors have reviewed the details of manufactured parts used for zero-gravity missions, subjected to onboard international space station conditions and with those manufactured on earth. Followed by the major opportunities in 3D printing in space which include component repair, material characterization, process improvement and process development along with the new designs. The challenges like space conditions, availability of power in space, the infrastructure requirements and the quality control or testing of the items that are being built in space are explained along with their possible mitigation strategies.FindingsThese components are well comparable with those prepared on earth which enables a massive cost saving. Other than the onboard manufacturing process, numerous other components as well as a complete robot/satellite for outer space applications were manufactured by additive manufacturing. Moreover, these components can be recycled onboard to produce feedstock for the next materials. The parts produced in space are bought back and compared with those built on earth. There is a difference in their nature, i.e. the flight specimen showed a brittle nature, and the ground specimen showed a denser nature.Originality/valueThis review discusses the advancements of 3D printing in space and provides numerous examples of the applications of 3D printing in space and space applications. This paper is solely dedicated to 3D printing in space. It provides a breakthrough in the literature as a limited amount of literature is available on this topic. This paper aims at highlighting all the challenges that additive manufacturing faces in the space sector and also the future opportunities that await development.

<p>Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a manufacturing process that deposits materials layer-by-layer to build a tangible product. The most common, and the most popular currently, is 3D printing. AM is claimed to have triggered a third industrial revolution because the technology presents new and expanding technical, economical and social impacts (Economist, 2012). Particularly, the increased accessibility to 3D printing capabilities has allowed mass customization to become more widespread in industries such as healthcare and consumer markets. Since the advent of mass production in the early 20th century, consumers’ demands have been met by producing large numbers of goods in significantly less time than ever before. While production time and price decreased, they did so at the expense of customization. AM makes it possible to offer customers options to personalize the products and goods they are purchasing, from custom-made prosthetics to a personalized smartphone case. The importance of customization cannot be understated. Researchers agree that customization will continue to grow as a major trend across industries. J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst for infrastructure and operations professionals for Forrester, says that while “mass customization has long been the next big thing in product strategy … changes in customer-facing technology are opening up new opportunities for product strategists to bring customers into product design, creating both customer loyalty and higher margins” (Forrester, 2011, p. 12). Marina Wall of the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at the University of Paderborn also contends that, “individuality or mass customization are important trends driving change so increased product diversity is important for the future and for meeting individual customer requirements. AM has great potential for freedom of design that can cope with these challenges” (as cited in AM Platform, 2013, p. 29). 3D printing is expected to play a significant role in the future of mass customization. This report explores the potential impact that this technology may have in various sectors. Through secondary research and conversations with business analysts, investors, members of the 3D printing community, experts and entrepreneurs, we investigated some of the potential market opportunities the technology is unveiling. We also explore sources of capital and nascent business models for those innovators interested in capitalizing on this technology. As part of our investigation, we also profile some organizations involved with 3D printing or related markets. These entrepreneurs are actively and creatively pushing the limits of 3D technology. For the purposes of this document, the terms 3D printing and additive manufacturing will be used interchangeably. </p>

<p>Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a manufacturing process that deposits materials layer-by-layer to build a tangible product. The most common, and the most popular currently, is 3D printing. AM is claimed to have triggered a third industrial revolution because the technology presents new and expanding technical, economical and social impacts (Economist, 2012). Particularly, the increased accessibility to 3D printing capabilities has allowed mass customization to become more widespread in industries such as healthcare and consumer markets. Since the advent of mass production in the early 20th century, consumers’ demands have been met by producing large numbers of goods in significantly less time than ever before. While production time and price decreased, they did so at the expense of customization. AM makes it possible to offer customers options to personalize the products and goods they are purchasing, from custom-made prosthetics to a personalized smartphone case. The importance of customization cannot be understated. Researchers agree that customization will continue to grow as a major trend across industries. J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst for infrastructure and operations professionals for Forrester, says that while “mass customization has long been the next big thing in product strategy … changes in customer-facing technology are opening up new opportunities for product strategists to bring customers into product design, creating both customer loyalty and higher margins” (Forrester, 2011, p. 12). Marina Wall of the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at the University of Paderborn also contends that, “individuality or mass customization are important trends driving change so increased product diversity is important for the future and for meeting individual customer requirements. AM has great potential for freedom of design that can cope with these challenges” (as cited in AM Platform, 2013, p. 29). 3D printing is expected to play a significant role in the future of mass customization. This report explores the potential impact that this technology may have in various sectors. Through secondary research and conversations with business analysts, investors, members of the 3D printing community, experts and entrepreneurs, we investigated some of the potential market opportunities the technology is unveiling. We also explore sources of capital and nascent business models for those innovators interested in capitalizing on this technology. As part of our investigation, we also profile some organizations involved with 3D printing or related markets. These entrepreneurs are actively and creatively pushing the limits of 3D technology. For the purposes of this document, the terms 3D printing and additive manufacturing will be used interchangeably. </p>