Emulating the unique combination of structural, compositional, and functional gradation in natural materials is exceptionally challenging. Many natural structures have proved too complex or expensive to imitate using traditional processing techniques despite recent manufacturing advances. Recent innovations within the field of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D Printing (3DP) have shown the ability to create structures that have variations in material composition, structure, and performance, providing a new design-for-manufacturing platform for the imitation of natural materials. AM or 3DP techniques are capable of manufacturing structures that have significantly improved properties and functionality over what could be traditionally-produced, giving manufacturers an edge in their ability to realize components for highly-specialized applications in different industries. An example of how these techniques can be applied towards a total hip arthroplasty application is provided to spur further innovation in this area.To this end, the present work reviews fundamental advances in the use of naturally-inspired design enabled through 3DP / AM, how these techniques can be further exploited to reach new application areas, and the critical issues that lie ahead for widespread implementation to solve long-standing as well as emerging scientific challenges.

模拟天然材料的结构、成分和功能梯度的独特组合极具挑战性。尽管最近制造技术取得了进步，但许多天然结构已被证明过于复杂或昂贵，无法使用传统加工技术进行模仿。增材制造 (AM) 或 3D 打印 (3DP) 领域的最新创新已显示出创建材料成分、结构和性能各异的结构的能力，为模仿天然材料提供了新的制造设计平台。材料。AM 或 3DP 技术能够制造的结构，其性能和功能比传统生产的结构显着改善，使制造商在为不同行业的高度专业化应用实现组件的能力方面具有优势。提供了如何将这些技术应用于全髋关节置换术应用的示例，以刺激该领域的进一步创新。为此，本工作回顾了通过 3DP/AM 实现的自然启发设计的基本进展，如何这些技术可以进一步利用以达到新的应用领域，以及广泛实施所面临的关键问题，以解决长期存在和新出现的科学挑战。