Fostering Novel Materials and Subsisting Technologies for 3D Printing

Sood, H.; Kaur, S.; Sharma, I.

The COVID-19 pandemic made a drastic impact on the human health and overall economy of the world. Other than health-related issues, the global healthcare structure was deeply affected due to an alarming imbalance in the demand-supply chain of critical medical equipment such as ventilators, quarantine closets, oxygen valves, protective equipment, etc., that support patients’ life during their battle against COVD-19. The field of 3D printing, or now commonly known as additive manufacturing (AM) has benefitted extremely by capitalizing on the increasing demand for manufacturing medical equipment. As a result, a vast number of start-ups have mushroomed up that are experimenting with various novel materials, techniques, and applications to build 3D printed products in quick turnaround time. Through this paper, we would highlight the propitious application of 3D printing in the biomedical engineering area. The chapter begins by addressing the fundamentals of 3D printing technologies and materials that shall be used to illustrate their whole system environmental impacts in later sections. This is followed by discussion over prominent countless initiatives that are being taken by multiple R&D centers, academic institutes, and various other corporations for the implementation of new technologies and materials to combat this pandemic. Further, the need for novel materials and the use of agricultural waste as compostable biomaterials for a circular economy has been discussed in detail. Aside to this, among the multiple 3D printing processes, a major focus has been on material extrusion, powder bed fusion, and material jetting techniques that are used for the medical sector based on current medical requirement, i.e., automatic door handle openers, face shields/masks, quarantine closets, ventilators, valves, etc. In the end, the conclusion will prove to be a stepping-stone for future research in this direction. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.