Table 1.

Categorization, benefits, drawbacks, and various applications of 3D printing.

Sr.	Category	Materials	Advantages	Disadvantages	Applications
1	Binder jetting	Metals, polymers, ceramics, composites [63]	Cheaper, faster	Poor surface finish and strength	Molds, cores, acoustics, porous components, lightweight structures, electrodes, antennas, surgical implants, denture frameworks, and filters [63]
2	Material extrusion	Metal pastes, Thermoplastic polymers, composites [64,69]	Cheaper, fully functional, multi-colored printing	Vertically anisotropic products will have stepped surface	Electrically conductive structures, Fiber-based composites for aircrafts Automotives, biosensors, and nasal prosthesis [64]
3	Directed energy deposition	Hybrids, Metals, [65]	Strong, high-quality parts, multi-DOF nozzle, used for repairing	The surface finish is not good at higher printing speeds	Cardiovascular devices, Orthopedics, dental implants, Welding, cladding, gas-turbine blade repairing, aero-engine parts of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy [65]
4	Material jetting	Ceramics, Polymers, composites, hybrid [37,60]	Excellent surface finish, multi-material printing, and good accuracy	Need for supports, limited materials	Concrete, biochemical, medical, biological, and purposes [66,67]
5	Powder bed fusion	Ceramics, Metals, composites, glass polymers, nylon, hybrids [37,68,69]	Excellent accuracy, high speed, no need for support	Poor surface finish, expensive, limited part size, high power consumption	Marine, Aerospace, construction, automobile, food/ jewelry, and heat exchangers [68,69]
6	Sheet lamination	Metals, Polymers, metal-filled tapes paper, ceramics [61,69]	Color printing, cheap, recyclable, bigger printing volume	Limited materials, strength is compromised with adhesive quantity	Reinforced composites, preceramic tapes, lightweight heating elements, printed electronics, and filters for soot particles [61]
7	Vat Photopolymerization	Ceramics, Photopolymers, semi-flexible substances, ABS [69]	High surface finish, fine resolution, and good accuracy	Costly, poor mechanical characteristics, limited materials	Biomedicine, water-resistant materials, and patterns for investment casting [69]