A Review of the Accuracy of thermoplastic polymeric Parts fabricated by Additive Manufacturing

Design/methodology/approach - Permutations of keywords, which concern materials, technologies and the accuracy of thermoplastic polymeric parts fabricated by Additive Manufacturing, are used for a systematic search in peer-review databases. The selected articles are screened and ranked to identify those that are more relevant. A bibliometric analysis is performed based on investigated materials and applied technologies of published papers. Finally, each article is categorised and discussed by considering the implemented research methods. Purpose - We present a survey concerning the accuracy of thermoplastic polymeric parts fabricated by Additive Manufacturing. Based on the scientific literature, the aim is to provide an updated map of trends and gaps in this relevant research field. Several technologies and investigation methods are examined, thus giving an overview and analysis of the growing body of research. Findings - The interest in the accuracy of additively manufactured thermoplastics is increasing. The principal sources of inaccuracies are those shrinkages occurring during part solidification. The analysis of the research methods shows a predominance of empirical approaches. Due to the experimental context, those achievements have consequently limited applicability. Analytical and numerical models, which generally require huge computational cost when applied to complex products, are also numerous and are investigated in details. Several articles deal with Artificial Intelligence tools and are gaining more and more attention. Originality/value - The cross-technology survey on the accuracy issue highlights the common critical aspects of thermoplastics transformed by additive manufacturing. An updated map of the recent research literature is achieved. The analysis shows the advantages and limitations of di↵erent research methods in this field, providing an overview of research trends and gaps.