Additive manufacturing (AM), widely known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has revolutionized the way products are designed and manufactured across a broad range of industries. Its unique advantages—including exceptional design flexibility, reduced material waste, lower production costs, rapid prototyping capability, and the ability to fabricate highly complex geometries—have significantly impacted both research and industrial practices. Additionally, the potential to create high-strength to weight-ratio components has opened new avenues in performance-critical sectors. As a result, AM technologies are now extensively utilized in fields such as biomedical engineering, aerospace, automotive, defense, architecture, education, and consumer products. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the seven most prominent 3D printing technologies, categorized under the main families of AM: vat photopolymerization (including stereolithography [SLA] and digital light processing [DLP]), powder bed fusion (selective laser sintering [SLS]), material extrusion (fused filament fabrication [FFF]]), binder jetting (BJ), material jetting (polyjet [PJ] and multijet printing [MJP]), and sheet lamination (laminated object manufacturing [LOM]). Each method is discussed in terms of its historical background, working principles, key advantages, and limitations. This foundational understanding offers valuable insights into the selection and application of 3D printing techniques, setting the stage for the more in-depth exploration of FFF in the subsequent chapters.
