Heterogeneous Materials Additive Manufacturing: An Overview

Advancements in additive manufacturing technology have made it possible to create machines that allow the use of a wider range of materials, even simultaneously in the production of a single piece. The production of heterogeneous objects allows to include multifunctionality within the domain by varying the composition in a gradual or net fashion. This paper analyzes the AM technologies that allow multi-material, emphasizing the constrains and the possible applications with the goal of identifying guidelines for design methods development. From the analysis we observe important innovations that permitted to easily process polymeric materials, especially with material extrusion and material jetting. However, the use of ceramic powders and metallic materials for the creation of heterogeneous objects requires the development of methods which remain very limited by the process conditions.