Abstract
Not satisfied with the current stage of the extensive research on 3D printing technology for polymers and metals, researchers are searching for more innovative 3D printing technologies for glass fabrication in what has become the latest trend of interest. The traditional glass manufacturing process requires complex high-temperature melting and casting processes, which presents a great challenge to the fabrication of arbitrarily complex glass devices. The emergence of 3D printing technology provides a good solution. This paper reviews the recent advances in glass 3D printing, describes the history and development of related technologies, and lists popular applications of 3D printing for glass preparation. This review compares the advantages and disadvantages of various processing methods, summarizes the problems encountered in the process of technology application, and proposes the corresponding solutions to select the most appropriate preparation method in practical applications. The application of additive manufacturing in glass fabrication is in its infancy but has great potential. Based on this view, the methods for glass preparation with 3D printing technology are expected to achieve both high-speed and high-precision fabrication.
Highlights
Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined as “the process of manufacturing objects layer by layer by connecting materials through 3D model data”, which is known as the additive manufacturing process and free-form fabrication [1]
Additive manufacturing has an extremely high material utilization rate compared with traditional manufacturing processes, which helps to achieve satisfactory geometric precision [2]
As an emerging technology, there are still many challenges that need to be solved before practical application, including, but not limited to, materials and design
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined as “the process of manufacturing objects layer by layer by connecting materials through 3D model data”, which is known as the additive manufacturing process and free-form fabrication [1]. Additive manufacturing was first invented and developed in the 1980s and, since the technology has gained traction thanks to its rapid, mold-less molding, as well as its relatively short cycle of manufacturing and the ability to replicate accurately. Over the few years, the technologies associated with additive manufacturing (AM) will rapidly evolve and transform into a more comprehensive manufacturing approach. Additive manufacturing has an extremely high material utilization rate compared with traditional manufacturing processes, which helps to achieve satisfactory geometric precision [2]. All these unique features have led to a greater diversity of materials produced using additive manufacturing techniques, including even polymers [3], metals [4,5], soft matter [6], and nanocomposites. The great complexity of geometries in additive manufacturing has been widely used in aerospace, energy storage, and optical precision instruments [7], and it has even demonstrated some exceptional capabilities and potential for rapid response to public health emergencies [8]
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