3D printing is rapidly emerging as a key manufacturing technique that is capable of serving a wide spectrum of applications, ranging from engineering to biomedical sectors. Its ability to form both simple and intricate shapes through computer-controlled graphics enables it to create a niche in the manufacturing sector. Key challenges remain, and a great deal of research is required to develop 3D printing technology for all classes of materials including polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites. In view of the growing importance of 3D manufacturing worldwide, this Special Issue aims to seek original articles to further assist in the development of this promising technology from both scientific and technological perspectives. Targeted reviews, including mini-reviews, are also welcome, as they play a crucial role in educating students and young researchers.

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This Special Issue was proposed by and for engineers, physicists, medical doctors, researchers and scientists. We intend to analyze and discuss different topics on special materials for medical applications. There is great potential in the application of active or smart materials (metallic, polymer or ceramic) for the progression of applications in the medical domain of MEMS, actuators, sensors or functional systems. Active or “smart” materials have the ability to respond to different physical or chemical stimuli in a specific, repeatable mode. The actual activity in the domain, however, presents problems connected to obtaining, processing, characterizing, modeling and simulating or prototyping technologies. This Special Issue focuses on the most recent advances in obtaining and thermal and mechanical processing active materials used in the medical field with enhanced performances.

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Additive manufacturing (AM), as an advanced manufacturing technology, has overturned the traditional concept of subtractive manufacturing. It has revolutionized advanced integrated structural design, high-performance material preparation, and the manufacturing of complex components. AM technology is changing the way products are developed, produced, and commercialized, leading to disruptive changes in the economy and society. AM technology has received extensive attention and research from the research community since its inception, and it is leading manufacturing technology and continues to be used with great effectiveness in the aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical plant applications, and many other fields. However, the development of additive manufacturing still faces demanding technical challenges; for example, due to insufficient process planning and inadequate process control, many defects are often observed in the products of AM processes, reducing production efficiency and deteriorating product quality. To promote AM technology toward high efficiency, high precision, high performance, and low cost in a green and intelligent direction, many advanced design and manufacturing technologies are in urgent need of further breakthroughs, such as numerical and analytical models for structural design, experimental methods, performance prediction, and process optimization.

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This Special Issue book covers a wide scope in the research field of 3D-printing, including: the use of 3D printing in system design; AM with binding jetting; powder manufacturing technologies in 3D printing; fatigue performance of additively manufactured metals, such as the Ti-6Al-4V alloy; 3D-printing methods with metallic powder and a laser-based 3D printer; 3D-printed custom-made implants; laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) process of TiC-TMC coatings; Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing; cranial implant fabrication without supports in electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing; the influence of material properties and characteristics in laser powder bed fusion; Design For Additive Manufacturing (DFAM); porosity evaluation of additively manufactured parts; fabrication of coatings by laser additive manufacturing; laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing; plasma metal deposition (PMD); as-metal-arc (GMA) additive manufacturing process; and spreading process maps for powder-bed additive manufacturing derived from physics model-based machine learning.

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This Special Issue on “Advanced Nanomaterials in Biomedical Application” aimed to showcase the most recent advances in nanomaterials, not only in terms of their synthesis and characterization, but also their technological application. This Special Issue welcomed the submission of original research articles and reviews. Research areas include all types of nanomaterials used in the development of medical applications (e.g., therapeutic: anticancer, antibacterial, toxicology; diagnostic: imaging; nanodevices, and others).

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Welding is widely used by both academia and industry to create similar and dissimilar joints aiming to create a complex shape structure and to couple the mechanical properties of different materials into a single monolithic structure. In this book, a collection of peer-reviewed works on the welding of advanced engineering alloys is presented. Both solid-state and fusion-based welding technologies are presented. These works employed advanced microstructure characterization to evaluate how the selection of process parameters impacts the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints. Moreover, three comprehensive review works are also included, providing an in-depth overview of distinct topics. We hope that this collection of works is of interest to the community so that welding technologies continue to grow further in the future.

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The rapid growth of modern industry has resulted in a growing demand for construction materials with excellent operational properties. However, the improved features of these materials can significantly hinder their manufacture and, therefore, they can be defined as hard-to-cut. The main difficulties during the manufacturing/processing of hard-to-cut materials are attributed especially to their high hardness and abrasion resistance, high strength at room or elevated temperatures, increased thermal conductivity, as well as resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Nowadays, the group of hard-to-cut materials is extensive and still expanding, which is attributed to the development of a novel manufacturing techniques (e.g., additive technologies). Currently, the group of hard-to-cut materials mainly includes hardened and stainless steels, titanium, cobalt and nickel alloys, composites, ceramics, as well as the hard clads fabricated by additive techniques. This Special Issue, “Advances in Hard-to-Cut Materials: Manufacturing, Properties, Process Mechanics and Evaluation of Surface Integrity”, provides the collection of research papers regarding the various problems correlated with hard-to-cut materials. The analysis of these studies reveals the primary directions regarding the developments in manufacturing methods, characterization, and optimization of hard-to-cut materials.

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Various technologies have been developed for ceramic films and coatings, since they play an important role in the field of materials science. Compared to bulk ceramics, the preparation of ceramic film is certainly not a tedious process, as it includes ball milling, sieving, forming, pre-sintering, and high-temperature sintering. Additionally, it is possible to manufacture ceramic film with various shapes to meet industrial and civil demands. Recently, functional ceramic films and coatings used for lighting, anti-counterfeiting, corrosion prevention, wear resistance, and so on, have become a hot research topic. However, the creation of high-performance films and coatings still remains a challenge because the preparation technique, as well as their composition, microstructure, and compactness, significantly affect their properties and final applications. This Special Issue contains 25 papers, mainly introducing surface coatings, ceramics, photoluminescence, corrosion prevention, and wear resistance. This issue contains outstanding achievements in this field, which will definitely promote the future development of ceramic films and coatings technology.

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The last few decades have seen rapid development in the field of surface engineering and its applications in almost all industrial sectors. Tribological coatings, which are an important aspect of surface engineering, are today applied on machine component surfaces for a diverse range of moving machine components to control (mostly to minimize) friction and wear in order to conserve energy and materials. This reprint book is a compilation of 11 research papers contributed by experts in the field of surface engineering and tribology. These papers have dealt with the synthesis of various types of coatings, characterization and applications under different operating conditions. It is hoped that this reprint book will be of interest, not only to researchers, but also to practicing engineers and technologists in the industry.

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This book contains thirty articles on various topics related to the corrosion and protection of metallic materials. This topic is of strong actuality both due to the aging of plants and infrastructures that require checks and maintenance, and to the use of traditional materials in increasingly aggressive environments, added to the need of changing the current anti-corrosion systems with less environmental impact methods. Finally, the new development of innovative materials, such as additive manufacturing or high-entropy alloys, needs the characterization of their corrosion behavior. In this issue, there are works on new alloys obtained for additive manufacturing or high entropy, on the study of corrosion and stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms, through electrochemical and microscopical techniques, studies on low environmental impact inhibitors and biocides, as well as ceramic and metal protective coatings. Finally, there are works on the study of the residual mechanical resistance of corroded infrastructures and on monitoring and non-destructive control. In this way, the book therefore offers a somewhat varied panorama of research trends in the field.

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With the second volume, we continue our mission to providing theoretical and experimental research that contribute new insights and practical findings in the field of crystal plasticity-related topics. Once again, a completely new set of 26 original works (including 22 research articles, 3 communications, and 1 review) has been collected. As in the case of the first volume, here, a full spectrum of topics belonging to the field of crystal plasticity is represented, including both numerical simulations and experimental works. By taking into account the investigated materials, the papers can be assigned to the following thematic groups: Steels and iron-based alloys; Non-ferrous alloys with fcc- (Ni- and Cu-based), or hcp crystal structure (Mg- and Ti-based). Other examples include Zirconium, Bi-Sn alloy, or polycarbonate resins; Multicomponent and high-entropy alloys; General theoretical studies on crystal plasticity. Specifically, the reprint should be interesting for students of material science and engineering, Ph.D. candidates, and researchers dealing with various theoretical and practical aspects of plastic deformation in crystalline materials.

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In this reprint, state-of-the-art research and review articles on emerging material systems for additive manufacturing (AM) are collected, with a focus on the process–structure–properties relationships. Additive manufacturing (AM) has grown and evolved rapidly in recent years. There are many exciting research and translational works in many areas of application, such as biomedical, aerospace and electronics. These advancements are typically coupled with materials development, which has resulted in more functionalities added to 3D-printed parts, such as multi-material fabrications and integration with machine learning or digital twins. Such enhancements in functionalities have enabled the evolution of AM from a rapid prototyping tool to an actual manufacturing solution. In this reprint, two reviews and thirteen original research articles are included to highlight the latest development in the field of materials science for AM.

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This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Emerging Micro Manufacturing Technologies and Applications that was published in Micromachines. It contains eleven articles, including one Editorial, nine research papers, and one review.

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Surface integrity management is remarkably important when metal alloys are used to manufacture relevant parts. Advanced materials such as titanium, nickel alloys, non-ferrous alloys, or special steels make surface integrity preservation after machining particularly difficult. Consequently, thorough finishing techniques are required to rectify the surface integrity. Engineering surfaces that exemplify the importance of surface integrity control are typically found in the transportation industry. Pieces formed using complex curved surfaces, such as turbine blades or landing gears, and molds and dies for upsetting operations are good examples. These kinds of parts are often manufactured through 3- or 5-axis machining with the aid of successive adjacent passes of hemispherical tools, whereas this ball-end milling strategy allows one to achieve complex surfaces by following the desired shape through NC interpolations generated by a CAM (it also has deep constraints). In this context, processes such as burnishing, honing, plateau-honing, grinding, and shot-peening can contribute to improving the described surfaces in terms of texture, residual stress, and hardness, and are easily maneuverable from a procedural point of view. This Special Issue collected the research results on these kinds of finishing processes, which are very important to the transportation industry.

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This book is dedicated to highlighting some relevant advances in the field of thin films and coatings based on two-dimensional crystals and layered nanomaterials. Due to their layered structure, graphene and a variety of new 2D inorganic nanosystems, called “graphene analogues”, have all attracted tremendous interest due to their unprecedented properties/superior performance, and may find applications in many fields from electronics to biotechnology. These two-dimensional systems are ultrathin and, hence, tend to be flexible, also presenting distinctive and nearly intrinsic characteristics, including electronic, magnetic, optical, thermal conductivity, and superconducting properties. Furthermore, the combination of different structures and synergetic effects may open new and unprecedented perspectives, making these ideal advanced materials for multifunctional assembled systems. As far as the field of coatings is concerned, new layered nanostructures may offer unique and multifunctional properties, including gas barrier, lubricant, conductive, magnetic, photoactive, self-cleaning, and/or antimicrobial surfaces. This book contains new findings on the synthesis and perspectives of multifunctional films that are at the forefront of the science and coating technologies.

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Recent industrial criteria increasingly require the production of multi-material components. However, the manufacturing requirements of these components are not met by conventional welding techniques. Alternative solid-state technologies, such as impact-based processes, must be considered. The impact welding family is composed of several processes, such as explosion welding, magnetic pulse welding, vaporizing foil actuator welding, and laser impact welding. These processes present very different length scales, providing the impact welding family with a broad applicability range. A sample of the cutting-edge research that is being conducted on the multidisciplinary field of impact welding is presented in this book.

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Laser shock processing (LSP) is a continuously developing effective technology used to improve surface and mechanical properties for metallic alloys. LSP is in direct competition with other established technologies, such as shot peening, both in preventive manufacturing treatments and maintenance/repair operations. The level of LSP maturity has increased in recent years and several thematic international conferences have been organized (i.e., the 7th ICLPRP held in Singapore, June 17–22, 2018) to discuss different developments of a number of key aspects. These aspects include: fundamental laser interaction phenomena; material behavior at high deformation rates/under intense shock waves; laser sources and experimental process implementation; induced microstructural/surface/stress effects; mechanical and surface properties with experimental characterization and testing; numerical process simulation; development and validation of applications; comparison of LSP to competing technologies; and novel related processes. All of these aspects have been recursively treated by well-renowned specialists, providing a firm basis for the further development of the technology in its path to industrial penetration. However, the application of LSP (and related technologies) on different types of materials with different applications (such as the always demanding aeronautical/aerospatial field or the energy generation, automotive, and biomedical fields) still requires extensive effort to elucidate and master different critical aspects. Thus, LSP deserves a great research effort as a necessary step prior to its industrial readiness level. The present Special Issue of Metals in the field of “Laser Shock Processing and Related Phenomena” aims, from its initial launching date, to collect (especially for the use of LSP application developers in different target sectors) a number of high-quality and relevant papers representing state-of-the-art technology that is useful to newcomers in realizing its wide and relevant prospects as a key manufacturing technology. Consequently, in an additional and complementary way, papers were presented at the thematic ICLPRP conferences, and a call was made to authors willing to prepare high-quality and relevant papers to the journal, with the confidence that their work would become part of a fundamental reference collection regarding the present state-of-the-art LSP technology. The Special Issue includes two reviews and nine research papers. Each contribution adds to the reference knowledge of LSP technology and covers the practical totality of open issues, which will lead to present-day research at worldwide universities, research centers, and industrial companies.

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Tribology grapples with diverse challenges, seeking to minimize friction and wear, and to advance the energy efficiency and sustainability of machinery. Laser surface engineering emerges as a highly effective solution with which to tackle these challenges. Recent advancements in this field, including techniques like laser texture, laser deposition, laser cladding, and laser modification, have found widespread applications in tribology. Surface-strengthening coatings, prepared via laser manufacturing, stand out as one of the most efficient strategies to mitigate tribological issues. The laser processing-related techniques either alter the surface texture or create a new film, thereby enhancing the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of the contact surfaces. These innovations have seamlessly integrated into various industrial applications. This comprehensive reprint encompasses surface texturing, laser processing, and post-machining. Various metals, such as cast iron, steel, high-entropy alloy, and Ti-based, Cu-based, Al-based, and Ni-based alloys, are explored in this reprint, with a dedicated focus on leveraging laser surface engineering for tribological enhancements. In the pursuit of ongoing advancements in this field, contributors participate in this reprint, encompassing the domains of laser surface engineering and tribology, in order to delve into and share their insights. We anticipate that this reprint will draw attention to key research trends and state-of-the-art developments in laser surface engineering for tribology.

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Additive manufacturing (AM) processes are gaining more and more attention from many industrial fields, mainly because they are revolutionizing the components’ designs and production lines. The complete industrialization of these processes has to be supported by the full understanding of correlation between AM building conditions and the final materials’ properties. Another critical aspect is that nowadays only a reduced number of materials processable by AM are available on the market. It is, therefore, fundamental to widen the materials’ portfolio, and to study and develop new materials that can take advantage of these unique building processes.

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This Special Issue collected original contributions, both research papers and reviews, showing recent results and/or positive advances in the behavior of new sustainable bio-materials under applied mechanical stress, both in static and dynamic mode, and evaluating the characteristics of resistance, moduli and/or viscoelasticity, in view of potential applications, such as tissue engineering, medical devices, surgical or dental implants, manufacturing of human parts, agriculture, packaging, textiles, electronics, automotive and aerospace, green buildings, and architecture and construction.

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We thank all contributors of this Special Issue and the editorial staff of Crystals for helping this Special Issue achieve success; we are especially gratefully to the expert reviewers who agreed to review the papers submitted to this Special Issue for their diligence and timely effort. Under joint efforts, finally, this Special Issue published 15 papers, including 1 review paper and 14 original research papers. These published papers are mainly related to the mechanical properties of superelastic alloys, titanium alloys, shape memory alloys, various kinds of steels, medium-entropy alloys, high-temperature alloys, etc. Under the success of this Special Issue, the published papers will promote the development and progress of advanced metallic materials. We sincerely hope these papers can cause the readers to be informative and inspire them to obtain new ideas.

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Micro electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) is a thermo-electric and contactless process most suited for micro-manufacturing and high-precision machining, especially when difficult-to-cut materials, such as super alloys, composites, and electro conductive ceramics, are processed. Many industrial domains exploit this technology to fabricate highly demanding components, such as high-aspect-ratio micro holes for fuel injectors, high-precision molds, and biomedical parts.Moreover, the continuous trend towards miniaturization and high precision functional components boosted the development of control strategies and optimization methodologies specifically suited to address the challenges in micro- and nano-scale fabrication.This Special Issue showcases 12 research papers and a review article focusing on novel methodological developments on several aspects of micro electrical discharge machining: machinability studies of hard materials (TiNi shape memory alloys, Si3N4–TiN ceramic composite, ZrB2-based ceramics reinforced with SiC fibers and whiskers, tungsten-cemented carbide, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, duplex stainless steel, and cubic boron nitride), process optimization adopting different dielectrics or electrodes, characterization of mechanical performance of processed surface, process analysis, and optimization via discharge pulse-type discrimination, hybrid processes, fabrication of molds for inflatable soft microactuators, and implementation of low-cost desktop micro-EDM system.

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In many industrial applications, metallic materials are exposed to harsh operating conditions. Due to a combination of chemical and thermal stresses, the constructional and functional materials are degraded, and their utility properties are lost. These undesirable events are of a physicochemical nature and are commonly known as ‘corrosion’. In this Special Issue Book, 3 reviews and 18 original research papers focused on the complex relationships between the microstructure, phase constitution, and corrosion behavior of metallic materials are collected. Both high temperature and low temperature corrosion studies are included as they investigate the physicochemical processes at the material interfaces. Furthermore, possibilities for increasing the corrosion resistance of metallic materials are studied by means of surface modification and application of protective layers. This Special Issue Book, Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Advanced Alloys, displays the diversity and complexity of modern corrosion research. It is hoped that it will become a valuable source of reference for corrosion scientists.

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The papers collected in this special issue clearly reflect the modern research trends in materials science. These fields of specific attention are high-Mn TWIP steels, high-Cr heat resistant steels, aluminum alloys, ultrafine grained materials including those developed by severe plastic deformation, and high-entropy alloys. The major portion of the collected papers is focused on the mechanisms of microstructure evolution and the mechanical properties of metallic materials subjected to various thermo-mechanical, deformation or heat treatments. Another large portion of the studies is aimed on the elaboration of alloying design of advanced steels and alloys. The changes in phase content, transformation and particle precipitation and their effect on the properties are also broadly presented in this collection, including the microstructure/property changes caused by irradiation.

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