# Additive Manufacturing and Textiles--State-of-the-Art
## 3 Materials Used for 3D Printing  
The type of material used for AM directly affects the objects dimensions, durability, characteristics and possible applications as well as the willingness to wear as the cloth-like structures [32; 33]. Light-weight polymers or polymer composites are the main materials used as printing materials allowing flexibility of the printed items [34; 35]. The most current materials used for AM textile structures are usually not flexible enough to provide suitable comfort for daily use [22]. Their selection is limited from the printing technique [36]. For providing thermo-physiological comfort, natural textile fibers on cellulosic or protein basis still would be ideal materials [37]. Some researchers try to use wool as printing material [38; 39] to overcome the limitation of plastic materials, but in this case the process is related to needle punching of wool yarns for production of 3D forms, and precisely speaking do not present 3D printing using polymer deposition. Because wool and cellulosic fibers have no melting point, their direct use for 3D printing by melting is not possible; only solution based methods could be solution for them. In general, the raw material for printing can be in all three aggregate state as solid/powder, liquid and gas. The type of the material can be very different like polymers, metals, ceramics, waxes, sand, resins and a composite of two or more materials [2; 32; 40]. The polymers are the dominating materials used in 3D printing in the last five years (from 2015 to 2019) which is followed by resins and metals [36]. Polymers provide a great variety of properties, which is why they are used for a wide range of applications from adhesives to medical and more advanced technologies within large industries [2]. The main type of the used polymers are the thermoplastic polymers like PLA (polylactic acid), ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PLA (Polylactide), PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified), nylon (polyamid), and TPU (Polynetthane). Their properties as melting point, required extrusion temperature and main mechanical properties are widely published in internet for instance at www.3 dnatives.com, [https://all3 dp.com/](https://all3 dp.com/) and many other pages. According the predictions of several researchers [37; 41] more textile related materials will be used in the near future For example, a textile company named TamiCare Limited (www.tamicare.com), has already developed an AM technology called CosyFlexTM that prints fabrics using liquid polymers, including natural latex, silicon, polyurethane, and Teflon, as well as textile fibers like cotton, rayon and polyamide [2; 42; 22]. Electro-loom ([[http://www.electroloom.com/](http://www.electroloom.com/)]([http://www.electroloom.com/](http://www.electroloom.com/))) was another company trying to wearable fabrics using electro-spinning method, where the liquid polymers was sprayed out from the nozzles and then dried to form the cloth on the 3D mold of the shape [43]. The company closed in 2016 because of missing financing and of technological difficulties ([44] and [[https://medium.com/electroloom-blog/thanks-and-farewell-b0c128c3043](https://medium.com/electroloom-blog/thanks-and-farewell-b0c128c3043) ff.c52 nk8a2h]([https://medium.com/electroloom-blog/thanks-and-farewell-b0c128c3043](https://medium.com/electroloom-blog/thanks-and-farewell-b0c128c3043) ff.c52 nk8a2h)). The electro spinning is modern method for production of fibrous surfaces with very fine materials, which can be suitable for tissue engineering and other special areas, but their productivity is still very low for conventional clothing. Cellulosic materials are applied using solution based methods as modification of existing surfaces applications [45]. Another trend in the materials is building the composite filaments, based currently on two components.