Book excerpt: 3D industrial printing has become mainstream in manufacturing. This unique book is the first to focus on polymers as the printing material. The scientific literature with respect to 3D printing is collated in this monograph. The book opens with a chapter on foundational issues such and presents a broad overview of 3D printing procedures and the materials used therein. In particular, the methods of 3d printing are discussed and the polymers and composites used for 3d printing are detailed. The book details the main fields of applications areas which include electric and magnetic uses, medical applications, and pharmaceutical applications. Electric and magnetic uses include electronic materials, actuators, piezoelectric materials, antennas, batteries and fuel cells. Medical applications are organ manufacturing, bone repair materials, drug-eluting coronary stents, and dental applications. The pharmaceutical applications are composite tablets, transdermal drug delivery, and patient-specific liquid capsules. A special chapter deals with the growing aircraft and automotive uses for 3D printing, such as with manufacturing of aircraft parts and aircraft cabins. In the field of cars, 3D printing is gaining importance for automotive parts (brake components, drives), for the fabrication of automotive repair systems, and even 3D printed vehicles.