3D/4D Printing of Polymer-Based Composites and Lightweight Structures
A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D3: 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editors
Interests: additive manufacturing; composites; modelling; design optimisation; metamaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Additive manufacturing (AM) has become one of the most promising techniques in the advanced and rapid fabrication domains. It can be applied in the manufacture of parts with complex shapes owing to its advantages, such as its relatively low costs and high production efficiency. In recent years, the use of additive technology to prepare polymer-based composites and lightweight structures has been a practice accepted by the industry.
This Special Issue will report on the latest developments in 3D-/4D-printed polymer-based composites and lightweight structures in various aspects, such as new 3D/4D printing processes for polymer-based short-fiber-/continuous-fiber-reinforced composites, innovative design methods for lightweight structures, and the functional structures achieved by polymer or polymer-based composites. As a relatively new research field, the 3D/4D printing of polymer-based composites and lightweight structures presents a number of challenges, but also considerable development potential. Thus, this Special Issue aims to collate the latest findings in this research field into a cohesive forum to identify the key challenges and opportunities that currently exist, share the latest research results, and promote progress in research related to polymer-based composites and lightweight structures in 3D/4D printing.
Potential topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Mechanical analysis of 3D-/4D-printed polymers, polymer-based composites and lightweight structures;
- Novel 3D/4D printing technologies for polymers, polymer-based composites and lightweight structures;
- Design and optimization of polymer-based composites and lightweight structures for 3D/4D printing;
- Novel design methods (theoretical, computational, etc.);
- Processing and characterisation of 3D-/4D-printed polymers, polymer-based composites and lightweight structures;
- Simulation analysis of the 3D/4D printing process and performances of polymer-based composites and lightweight structures;
- The 4D printing of polymers, polymer-based composites and lightweight structures to achieve controlled changes in function;
- Advanced engineering applications (aerospace, automotive, etc.).
Dr. Yuan Chen
Guest Editor
Dr. Ping Cheng
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- three-dimensional/four-dimensional printing
- polymers and polymer-based composites
- lightweight structures
- numerical simulation
- function design
- mechanics characterization
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