The synthesis and manufacturing of polymer nanocomposites have garnered interest in recent research and development because of their superiority compared to traditionally employed industrial materials.

Laser‐powder bed fusion (L‐PBF) is extensively adopted in the aerospace and automobile industries for producing metallic components. The L‐PBF process involves rapid melting and solidification of metallic powders using a laser source to produce dense parts. Most industrial L‐PBF systems use a fiber‐based laser source that emits a Gaussian beam distribution. However, the conventional Gaussian beam used in L‐PBF processes presents inherent limitations that can impact the quality and properties of the final products. This review aims to provide a theoretical background of laser beam shaping techniques and explores the application of alternative beam shapes in L‐PBF. It investigates how different beam profiles affect the melt pool geometry, process stability, productivity, mechanical properties, microstructure, and surface roughness of fabricated parts. Additionally, it discusses different types of beam shaping techniques and elements utilized to generate distinct beam shapes. Furthermore, different constraints and limitations that hinder the full exploitation of beam shaping are critically discussed. By analyzing the impact of beam shaping in L‐PBF, this review provides insight into optimizing the additive manufacturing process, enhancing part quality, and improving processing performance. It will also help readers to overview the research gaps, challenges, and promising future directions in laser beam shaping applications in L‐PBF.

The synergistic integration of nanocomposites and 3D printing has opened a gateway to the future and is soon expected to surpass its rivalry with traditional manufacturing techniques. However, there is always a challenge associated with preparing a nanocomposite resin for polymerization-based 3D printing, which is the agglomeration of nanoparticles. Due to the high surface-area-to-volume ratio, the nanoparticles form clusters in the composite matrix, which affects the final properties. This paper aims to analyze the effects of graphene oxide (GO) dispersion on the mechanical and thermal properties of 3D-printed nanocomposites. In particular, a well-dispersed sonication dispersion route is employed for analyzing high and poor GO dispersions and their effects on different properties. After different microscopic analyses and testing, the optimum sonication condition was 30 min at an amplitude of 70%. In terms of mechanical properties, both tensile and compression strength first increased and then decreased gradually with different dispersions as well as varying GO concentrations. Furthermore, there was less or no effect on thermal stability. GO of 0.05 wt.% had the highest compression and tensile strength, while beyond 0.05 to 0.5 wt.%, both strengths reduced slowly. These 3D-printed nanocomposites have found their application in automotive, sports, and biomedical fields.

The advent of additive manufacturing (AM) has dramatically shifted the manufacturing sector conceptualization, design, and creation of products. AM can facilitate the production of complicated geometries and create functioning components with distinctive features for aerospace and automotive applications. However, defects such as pores, voids, interfaces, and inclusions can impair the quality and functionality of AM components. Vibration analysis (VA) has become a popular tool for the dynamic qualification and testing of products and nondestructive testing, but the literature lacks a comprehensive review of VA applied to AM. Hence, in this article, recent advances in the application of VA for identifying and characterizing flaws in metal alloys, including titanium, aluminum, and nickel‐based alloys produced by AM, are summarized. In this review, studies on defects such as porosity, cracks, and inclusions and their effect on VA are also included. Herein, this article concludes with a discussion of the limitations of VA for defect characterization and future research directions. Overall, VA is a promising nondestructive testing method for quality assurance in AM and offers insights on overcoming the difficulties for further development and application of this technology.

Correction for ‘Vat photopolymerization-based 3D printing of polymer nanocomposites: current trends and applications’ by Mussadiq Shah et al. , RSC Adv. , 2023, 13 , 1456–1496. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA06522C