Abstract: Three-dimensional network ceramic/metal composites combine wear ,high strength and hardness and oxidation resistance of ceramics as well as thermal conductivity and ductility of metal have attracted much attention in recent years .Nowadays ,the biggest difficulty to fabricate the co-continuous composites is preparing high-performance ceramic parts with complicated shape .3 D printing technology is tool-less manufacturing methods in which functional components are produced directly from a computer model . They can rapidly fabricate components with geometries that cannot be manufactured by other conventional methods,which will bring about enormous change in the ceramic /metal fields.In this paper,the technical principle,features,development and research status of 3D printing techniques are summarized .The future development of 3 D printing technology is also prospected .

Key words: three-dimensional network ceramic/metal composite;ceramic part;3 D printing technology;rapid prototyping