Survey: Advancement in Materials and Trends in Various Fields of 3D Printing

3D printing technology, also referred to as rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing, creates physical objects from a CAD model by successive addition or layer by layer addition of materials. It is a fast-emerging technology and nowadays, widely used in the world. This fast-emerging technology is increasingly used for the mass as well as customized production in the field of agriculture, bio medical, automotive industry, bio-printing and electronics industry. This paper presents a review on various advancement and development in 3D printing technology. The research papers considered for this survey were primarily focused on advancement of existing 3D printing techniques, thermo mechanical properties and cost effectiveness of materials used in 3D printing. Superior techniques of scanning and modeling the object to be printed were also reviewed. This paper also includes a survey regarding specific application, the best alternative material in terms of cost and durability and the technique which would be the most suitable for the specific requirement. Eventually this survey wraps up with a summary of the recent advancements in three-dimensional scanning, the associated technologies which are not yet fully implemented, but will be an inseparable part of the 3D Printing scenario in the near future.