Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, already exists for more than 20 years, but is gaining a lot of attention in recent years. Industrial applications are already available in i) prototyping, ii) bio-medical applications (patient specific implants, hearing aids, dental products), iii) non-critical aerospace parts, iv) small series production of parts.
So far, for polymeric materials, it cannot yet compete with traditional manufacturing methods with regards to product quality, speed, and cost. Nowadays, 3D printing starts to become competitive, but to fully exploit the design freedom that comes with additive manufacturing, a lot of material know how and knowledge is necessary in order to fulfill the strict requirements.