Abstract

Free form fabrication is poised to bring about a revolution in the way products\nare designed, manufactured, and distributed to end users. This technology has gained\nsignificant academic as well as industry interest due to its ability to create complex\ngeometries with customizable material properties. Free form fabrication has also inspired\nthe development of the maker movement by democratizing design and manufacturing. Due\nto the rapid proliferation of a wide variety of technologies associated with Free form\nfabrication, there is a lack of a comprehensive set of design principles, manufacturing\nguidelines, and standardization of best practices. These challenges are compounded by the\nfact that advancements in multiple technologies (for example materials processing, topology\noptimization) generate a ‘‘positive feedback loop’’ effect in advancing Free form\nfabrication. In order to advance research interest and investment in free form technologies,\nsome fundamental questions and trends about the dependencies existing in these avenues\nneed highlighting. The goal of our paper is to discuss fundamental attributes of free form\nprocesses, evolution of the manufacturing industry, and the affordances enabled by the\nemergence of Free-form fabrication in a variety of areas such as geometry processing,\nmaterial design, and education.