Research progress in 3D printing of graphite and its composite materials

3D printing， as a new manufacturing technology， has been widely applied in the forming and manufacturing of various materials with enormous development prospects. Graphite has excellent high-temperature resistance， conductivity， thermal conductivity， thermal stability， and chemical stability， widely used in fields such as metallurgy， energy industry， aerospace， and nuclear industry. Using graphite and its composite materials as the matrix and 3D printing technology to produce graphite products can reduce the graphite production cycle， improve material utilization， reduce graphite dust pollution， and provide an efficient and economical comprehensive solution for personalized customization and industrial application of high-performance and complex shaped graphite. This article focuses on the 3D printing technology of graphite and its composite materials， analyzes and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each technology， introduces the performance and application of graphite products formed by 3D printing， discusses the opportunities and challenges of graphite and its composite materials in the development process of 3D printing， and puts forward expectations and prospects for this. The development of graphite 3D printing technology needs to develop the types of expansion of graphite composite materials and new printing equipment and its supporting equipment， and conduct 3D printed graphite post -processing technology based on traditional graphite process.