3D printed architected lattice structures by material jetting

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in 3D printed lattice structures using Material Jetting, focusing on their fabrication, mechanical performance, advantages, limitations, and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in 3D printed architected lattices via Material Jetting, highlighting key challenges and opportunities.

Findings

Material Jetting enables high-precision lattice fabrication.

Mechanical performance varies with design and material choice.

Identifies gaps and future directions in 3D printed lattice research.

Abstract

High-precision 3D printing technology opens to almost endless opportunities to design complex shapes present in tailored architected materials. The scope of this work is to review the latest studies regarding 3D printed lattice structures that involve the use of photopolymers fabricated by Material Jetting (MJ), with a focus on the widely used Polyjet and MultiJet techniques. The main aspects governing this printing process are introduced to determine their influence during the fabrication of 3D printed lattices. Performed experimental studies, considered assumptions, and constitutive models for the respective numerical simulations are analyzed. Furthermore, an overview of the latest extensively studied 3D printed architected lattice materials is exposed by emphasizing their achieved mechanical performances through the use of Ashby plots. Then, we highlight the advantages, limitations, and challenges of the material jetting technology to manufacture tunable architected materials for innovative devices, oriented to several engineering applications. Finally, possible approaches for future works and gaps to be covered by further research are indicated, including cost and environmental-related issues.