The topic of additive manufacturing is not new to the ACerS Bulletin. For example, this publication has reported on developments ranging from research on two-photon prototyping for creating biomedical implants to investigations into robocasting to create functionally graded materials to the customized creation of dental prosthetics.

To understand how well ceramic materials and additive manufacturing—manufacturing in a large-scale sense—mesh from a broad and technical standpoint, the best place to start is with the excellent “Introduction to additive manufacturing,” published in the December 2012 issue of Ceramic Industry by a trio led by Ceralink Inc. president and materials scientist Holly Shulman. Although the field is changing rapidly, the article still captures the most important details on the strengths and weaknesses of what happens when ceramics and glass collide with mainstream AM techniques. It also contains fairly up-to-date lists of the major system vendors and companies that fabricate custom or production ceramic parts using AM, and it offers suggestions on significant AM organizations and events.