As part of intelligent manufacturing drive, the additive manufacturing has attracted much attention from scientific community and industry. The processes used in printed electronics and 3D printing are typical examples of additive manufacturing. In this article, a review is given for the printed electronics and 3D printing technology development history and status, with emphases on additive processes. After giving the examples of printable device structure and functional performance in electronics and optoelectronics devices, the requirements of the functional materials and additive manufacturing process optimization are introduced for manufacturing ability and better device performance. It is pointed out that the system optimization involving both production process and materials can accelerate the industry application of additive manufacturing to realize the national intelligent manufacturing initiative of made in China 2025.

additive manufacturing  /  printed electronics  /  3D printing  /  functional materials  /  functional inks