Short foray into the stages of conversion from 2.5D to volumetric printing

Abstract

[EN] Additive manufacturing gained popularity in the 2000s and is now considered a new or emerging technology of the 21st century. However, the origin of the process is much older and has existed for several decades, more precisely since the 19th century, when it appeared in small science fiction novels. In addition to these layer-by-layer approaches, there are also additive tomographic or volumetric approaches that allow the 3D object to be printed in a single step. These approaches, along with 3D printing of smart materials, are not so popular and consequently not fully understood or utilised. Thus, the paper briefly outlines the history of the transition from classical 2.5D printing, to 3D or non-planar printing, to 4D printing (with smart materials), to 5D printing (on equipment with more than three degrees of freedom), to 6D printing (a combination of 4D and 5D printing) and finally to volumetric printing. The future perspective of this technology are briefly presented with some application and examples.