
Additive manufacturing i.e. 3D printing is a process of making three-dimensional physical objects from a digital copy. It is achieved by layering down successive layers of material until the product is complete. Each of the layers can be considered a thin horizontal cross-section of the final product. It has applications in a diverse range of industries like medicine, aerospace & defence, and oil & gas. 3D printing uses materials like metals, metal alloys, thermoplastics, glass etc. An area which has great potential in the future is the 3D printed electronics and fabrication market. 3D printing generated a huge amount of hype in 2012 with the introduction of the world's first consumer 3D printers. The year 2016 is anticipated to augment the arrival of new printers capable of working with conductive and insulating materials. This will eventually allow the full-fledged maturation of the 3D printed electronics and fabrication market. 3D printing has already been used to print resistors, capacitors, sensors, antennas, film transistors, and circuits and the size of the industry is only expected to grow in the future.