| Abstract Scope |
Additive manufacturing has matured into a diversified, production-ready ecosystem. Binder-jet technology can readily manufacture stainless parts at casting-level cost and quality. Inline melt-pool cameras and AI controllers give quantifiable results, while two-photon polymerization routinely fabricates sub-micron features. Beyond Earth, the ISS printed its first steel part in recently, validating off-planet fabrication routes, and bioprinted skin patches are already moving through clinical trials. Short-term goals focus on faster multi-laser or area-sintering builds, a broader ceramic and super-alloy palette, and lights-out post-processing cells. Longer-term ambitions reach for AI-run hybrid factories, centimeter-per-second multi-material deposition that embeds electronic and thermal components, transplant-ready internal organs, lunar and Martian-regolith construction for extraterrestrial bases, adaptive 4D composites that self-heal, and closed-loop recycled powders for truly net-negative manufacturing. |