Advances in Additive Manufacturing for Construction: A Scientometric analysis of 3D Printing Research

Digital control printed printers are used to deposit layer after layer of structural elements in Additive Manufacturing (AM) by an extrusion technique. The purpose of this study is to examine the scientometric mapping of research work, thematic processes, and technological innovations of 3D printing in construction. The scope of the study also covers publications in the field to 2020-2025, but these publications are related to concrete printing, sustainable materials, automation, digital fabrication and environmental performance. A final dataset of 821 documents was gained using PRISMA-based screening criteria. Using scientometric analysis, publication trends were analyzed as well as collaboration patterns, clusters of keywords, countries of productivity, and influential journals. The findings indicate a stable annual growth of 8.85% that is characterized by the increasing international cooperation (30.21%), as well as high rate of research of European countries, in particular, Italy, Poland and Portugal. The productivity analysis of the authors refers to the Leroy Gardner and Viktor Mechtcharine as the most productive contributors. The analysis of the keywords showed that the key research groups included the additive manufacturing, concrete printing, material performance, automation, and sustainability. The results suggest that 3D printing is soon coming out of the experimental demonstrations and into mainstream and sustainable construction. This paper gives a thorough discussion of the dynamics of the research in the global world and gives an overview of additional innovation in digital and automated construction technologies.