Bone is composed of a collagen matrix reinforced with hydroxyapatite and organized into hierarchically porous architecture. Reproducing this interplay of composition, structure, and function is of great interest in the development of scaffolds for bone regeneration. Inorganic-organic composites are particularly promising, as they unite the toughness and flexibility of polymers with the rigidity and bioactivity of certain inorganic materials, such as bioactive glass or hydroxyapatite, thereby emulating both the mechanical and biological features of bone.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a powerful set of tools to realize such bioinspired designs. Among the different AM techniques, powder bed fusion and material extrusion offer distinct pathways to control scaffold geometry and hierarchical porosity. Powder bed fusion allows the fabrication of complex, high-resolution architectures directly from ceramic or composite powders, but often requires careful optimization of feedstock properties and high-energy processing that may limit ceramic incorporation. Material extrusion, by contrast, is more accessible and versatile for composites, enabling direct deposition of polymer–ceramic formulations into predefined architectures with controlled pore size, orientation, and interconnectivity. However, extrusion-based methods typically face limitations in resolution and mechanical strength compared to powder bed fusion.

This contribution highlights how these two AM routes translate the bioinspired paradigm of bone into functional scaffolds, discussing their respective advantages and challenges in processing polymer–ceramic composites for bone tissue regeneration.