Academic journals are where you’ll find the latest research studies and experiments in a specific scientific field. They are full of scientific jargon, and not everyone’s cup of tea, but in the field of additive manufacturing, they play a crucial role in advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and building a robust foundation for the growth of the industry. You can trace back nearly every major milestone in 3D printing technology and materials to an academic journal article. So if you want to stay on top of the innovations and chart the trajectory of the market, these are a good place to start.
Over the last few decades, the number of academic articles published on additive manufacturing has surged. Not only are renowned journals in engineering and material science covering more AM topics, but more focused publications have emerged that are specific to 3D printing.
Unlike a lot of what you might read on the web, these journals, published by researchers around the world, can be considered very reliable sources of information. Before publication, articles undergo peer review by experts in the field to ensure the quality of published research. Plus, they are typically the result of research at universities, government organizations, or foundations.
The AM research of today is the real-world AM of tomorrow. So if you’re interested in finding out where that research can be found, keep reading!
Best of the Best
In narrowing down our list, we kept the following considerations in mind:
- Indexed databases: All of the selected journals are indexed in Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, which guarantees article quality and availability.
- Number of AM articles: Journals that have a significant number of articles related to AM were prioritized. The first five exclusively focus on the topic, while the last five have a strong AM focus.
- Open Access: Who doesn’t like free content? The selected journals at least support open access – that is, it’s possible that some articles are available online at no cost. The rest of their content, as is the case with most academic material, is available only with a subscription. To obtain the non-open access articles, you either have to be part of an institution (usually a university) that pays the subscription cost or purchase the PDF article directly (which on average cost $30 or more)
- CiteScore: This is a journal metric directly linked to the impact of a publication on future research, roughly calculating the average number of citations per article. The CiteScore of a journal is updated annually and considers citations of articles published in the previous three years.
Exclusively AM Journals
If you want to keep up with the latest additive manufacturing developments, you should follow the following five journals, which will especially be of interest to engineers, materials scientists, researchers, professionals, and particularly curious makers interested in 3D printing.
Their publication frequencies vary, with a new issue of each journal being released every one to three months. They are exclusively focused on AM and cover a wide range of related topics, including the following:
- Advances in all the process categories of AM (i.e. material extrusion, vat photopolymerization, powder bed fusion, etc.)
- The development and characterization of new materials (including polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites)
- The latest applications, ranging from medical devices to nuclear power plant components
- Evolving AM designs and optimizations
Additive Manufacturing
Considered one of the most important journal focused exclusively on AM, this journal publishes hundreds of open access articles every year, and a new issue is launched monthly. It is affiliated with America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and is composed of high-impact papers, evidenced by its high CiteScore.
Recent articles include:
- “The mechanism and regulation of hot cracking in a new complex-concentrated alloy by a novel integrated directed energy deposition”
- “Research articleAbstract only”
- “Development of crystallographic misorientation in laser powder bed fusion 316L stainless steel”
- “Improving mechanical performance in material extrusion parts via optimized toolpath planning”
- “Re-use of polyamide-12 in powder bed fusion and its effect on process-relevant powder characteristics and final part properties”
The journal covers a wide scope, comprising new technologies, processes, methods, materials, systems, and applications in the field of additive manufacturing. Particularly interesting are its review articles, which describe the current state of and expectations for various topics.
- Publisher: Elsevier
- First year of publication: 2014
- CiteScore: 11.6
- Where to find it: ScienceDirect
- Publication frequency: 12 issues per year
- Location of majority of authors: USA
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$32
Rapid Prototyping Journal
This journal was the first exclusive publication on AM by far, having started in the 1990s when the process was still called rapid prototyping. The editor-in-chief is Professor Ian Gibson (from the University of Twente in the Netherlands), who is known for his leading book on the subject: Additive Manufacturing Technologies. Although it’s an older journal, it covers the latest innovations in the field, including applications of 3D printing in robotics and prosthetics along with the impact of AI in AM.
Recent articles include:
- “Influence of copper interlayer on the interface characteristics of stainless steel–aluminium transitional structure in wire arc directed energy deposition”
- “Selection methodology for additive manufacturing processes considering design, material, and manufacturability”
- “Explainable deep neural network for in-plain defect detection during additive manufacturing”
This publication also stands out for allowing its readers to buy an individual subscription. In other words, anyone can have full access by paying an individual subscription fee, eliminating the need to be affiliated with a partner institution.
- Publisher: Emerald
- First year of publication: 1995
- CiteScore: 6.0
- Where to find it: Emerald
- Publication frequency: 10 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: USA, China
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Individual subscription: ~$50/month
Virtual and Physical Prototyping
Although this journal publishes only a small number of articles per year, they tend to have a major impact on research trends, as evidenced by the highest CiteScore in this article. For example, it published a remarkable article about 4D printing and smart materials in 2015, a topic that has been increasingly studied. They also have a number of highly cited articles on concrete 3D printing. Virtual and Physical Prototyping converted to a full Open Access journal from 2023, but previous volumes will continue to provide access through a pay-to-read model.
Recent articles include:
- “Fabrication of functionalized graphene-PAEK nanocomposites for different manufacturing processes”
- “The role of controlled voids shape on the flexural properties of 3D printed food: an approach for tailoring their mechanical properties”
- “Upgrading analytical models to predict the onset of degradation in selective laser sintering”
- “Sub-microscale 3D printing based on cold-constrained local electrodeposition”
A webpage separate from the main one features all of the publication’s open access articles.
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis
- First year of publication: 2006
- CiteScore: 15.5
- Where to find it: Taylor & Francis Online
- Publication frequency: 5 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: Singapore, China
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$55
3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
This 6x/year journal also publishes about 20 articles in each addition addressing very current topics in 3D printing. The December 2023 issue covered:
- “Light Distribution in 3D-Printed Thermoplastics
- “The Relationship Between Fiber Bundle Size and Mechanical” Performance of Additively Manufactured Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites”
- “The Application of a Multi-Material Flexible Chain Mail for the Design of an Artificial Spinal Disc to Reproduce Natural Nonlinear and Anisotropic Rotational Behavior”
- “Biobased Resin for Sustainable Stereolithography: 3D Printed Vegetable Oil Acrylate Reinforced with Ultra-Low Content of Nanocellulose for Fossil Resin Substitution”
The journal’s editor-in-chief is Skylar Tibbits, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who attracts many authors from American institutions.
- Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert
- First year of publication: 2014
- CiteScore: 6.8
- Where to find it: Mary Ann Liebert
- Publication frequency: 6 issues per year
- Location of majority of authors: USA
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$50
Progress in Additive Manufacturing
Progress in Additive Manufacturing promotes highly scored scientific investigations from academia, government, and industry R&D activities, with a strong focus on studies from Germany. The journal publishes the advances in the processing of different kinds of materials by well-established and new AM technologies.
Recent articles include:
- “Standardization efforts of ISO/TC 261 “additive manufacturing” 21st plenary meeting of ISO/TC 261 “additive manufacturing”
- “Investigating the effect of process parameters for fused filament fabrication”
- “Mechanical investigations on secondary recycled ABS-based composite multi-layered tensile and flexural specimens prepared by fused filament fabrication”
- “Additive manufacturing for the automotive industry: on the life-cycle environmental implications of material substitution and lightweighting through re-design”
The publisher says this journal is a platform for scientists to contribute full papers as well as review articles and short communications analyzing aspects ranging from data processing, simulation, materials, microstructure development, and new AM processes.
- Publisher: Springer Nature
- First year of publication: 2016
- CiteScore: 5.5
- Where to find it: Springer
- Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: Germany
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$40
Journals with Strong AM Focus
Some of the oldest and most well-established academic journals are also becoming an important source for the most current academic research surrounding additive manufacturing. These publications have a much broader content coverage and so they publish many more articles with a high frequency.
All of the following journals publish at least once a month, and it’s common to find excellent articles providing broader overviews of subjects. As such, they certainly provide insights into the future of 3D printing.
Materials
Materials is a 100% open access journal, which is characteristic of its publisher (MDPI). It covers general topics on materials science and engineering, being a free and reliable source of a wide range of knowledge. This journal provides a forum for papers that advance the in-depth understanding of the relationship between structure, properties, and functions of all kinds of materials. In addition to regular issues, Materials publishes several Special Issues per year on specific topics.
Recent article include:
- “Comparison of Additively Manufactured Polymer-Ceramic Parts Obtained via Different Technologies”
- “Additive Manufacturing of Earth-Based Materials: A Literature Review on Mortar Composition, Extrusion, and Processing Earth”
- “Crashworthiness of Additively Manufactured Auxetic Lattices: Repeated Impacts and Penetration Resistance”
Within its volumes are over 1,000 articles on AM. Papers on 3D printing with metallic materials cover topics from material characterization to analyses of new materials.
- Publisher: MDPI
- First year of publication: 2008
- CiteScore: 4.2
- Where to find it: MDPI
- Publication frequency: 24 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: China, Germany, Poland
- Access: Open access
- Subscription article price: N/A
Materials Science and Engineering: A
Materials Science and Engineering A provides an international medium for the publication of theoretical and experimental studies related to the load-bearing capacity of materials as influenced by their basic properties, processing history, microstructure and operating environment. Following this theme, several articles on AM have been published in this journal.
Recent articles include:
- “Supreme tensile properties in precipitation-hardened 316L stainless steel fabricated through powder cold-consolidation and annealing”
- “Comparison of fatigue crack growth behaviour in electron-beam and laser powder-bed-fusion Inconel 718”
- “High-ductility Mg-9Li-1Zn-2Gd-1.2Mn alloy prepared via traditional hot extrusion”
- “Examining the contribution of tamping effect on inter-splat bonding during cold spray”
The most notable AM articles in this journal are related to the fabrication of metallic materials (e.g. steel and titanium alloys), their microstructures, and their mechanical properties.
- Publisher: Elsevier
- First year of publication: 1988
- CiteScore: 8.8
- Where to find it: ScienceDirect
- Publication frequency: 30 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: China, USA
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$38
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology bridges the gap between pure research journals and the more practical publications on advanced manufacturing and systems. It provides a forum for papers covering applications-based research topics relevant to manufacturing processes, machines, and process integration.
Recent articles include:
- “A digital twin for smart manufacturing of structural composites by liquid moulding”
- “Research on adaptive slicing method for optimizing STL model manufacturing details”
- “On the effect of printing orientation on the surface roughness of an additive manufactured composite vertical tail”
- “Polypropylene with clay–filled for fused filament fabrication: comparative study of the mechanical performance of injected and 3d printed composite”
A specific search can be used to find all of the publication’s open access articles.
- Publisher: Springer Nature
- First year of publication: 1985
- CiteScore: 5.6
- Where to find it: Springer
- Publication frequency: 72 issues per year
- Locations of majority of authors: China, USA
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: $39.95
Journal of Materials Processing Technology
The renowned Journal of Materials Processing Technology boasts over 30 years of publication as well as an impressively high CiteScore. Its many authors, the majority of whom are from China, are responsible for more than 1,000 articles, and the monthly publication covers the general processing of materials.
Recent articles include:
- “Microstructure effect on the machinability behavior of additive and conventionally manufactured Inconel 718 alloys”
- “A novel high-dynamic actuator based in-situ micro-forging process for wire arc additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy”
- “Influence of the printing strategy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of thick-walled wire arc additive manufactured stainless steels”
In AM, its featured publications are related to laser selective melting of metals.
- Publisher: Elsevier
- First year of publication: 1990
- CiteScore: 10.2
- Where to find it: ScienceDirect
- Publication frequency: 12 issues per year
- Location of majority of authors: China
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$30
Journal of Manufacturing Processes
The aim of the Journal of Manufacturing Processes is to exchange current and future directions of manufacturing processes research, development and implementation, and to publish archival scholarly literature with a view to advancing state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and encouraging innovation for developing new and efficient processes.
Recent articles include:
- “Spherical path planning for multi axis support free additive manufacturing of truss structures”
- “Design of multi-arc collaborative additive manufacturing system and forming performance research”
- “Shrinkage evaluation and geometric accuracy assessment on 17–4 PH samples made by material extrusion additive manufacturing”
- “Advanced process characterization and machine learning-based correlations between interdiffusion layer and expulsion in spot welding”
The journal publishes research on innovative new concepts, emerging technologies, and mechanical, chemical and thermal processes
- Publisher: SME
- First year of publication: 2005
- CiteScore: 9.2
- Where to find it: ScienceDirect
- Publication frequency: 24 issues per year
- Location of majority of authors: China, India
- Access: Open access, subscription
- Subscription article price: ~$30
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