From Additive Manufacturing to 3D/4D Printing 1. From Concepts to Achievements

In 1984, additive manufacturing represented a new methodology for manipulating matter, consisting of harnessing materials and/or energy to create three-dimensional physical objects. Today, additive manufacturing technologies represent a market of around 5 billion euros per year, with an annual growth between 20 and 30%. Different processes, materials and dimensions (from nanometer to decameter) within additive manufacturing techniques have led to 70,000 publications on this topic and to several thousand patents with applications as wide-ranging as domestic uses. Volume 1 of this series of books presents these different technologies with illustrative industrial examples. I…