Miscellaneous

In a collaboration between Stratasys’ Education, R&D departments and MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, a new process is being developed, coined 4D Printing, which demonstrates a radical shift in rapid-prototyping. 4D Printing entails multi-material prints provided by the Connex Technology with the added capability of embedded transformation from one shape to another, directly off the print-bed. This revolutionary technique offers a streamlined path from idea to reality with full functionality built directly into the materials. Imagine robotics-like behavior without the reliance on complex electro-mechanical devices!

A collaboration between:
The Self-Assembly Lab, MIT + Stratasys Ltd. + Autodesk Inc.

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In a collaboration between Stratasys’ Education, R&D departments and MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, a new process is being developed, coined 4D Printing, which demonstrates a radical shift in rapid-prototyping. 4D Printing entails multi-material prints provided by the Connex Technology with the added capability of embedded transformation from one shape to another, directly off the print-bed. This revolutionary technique offers a streamlined path from idea to reality with full functionality built directly into the materials. Imagine robotics-like behavior without the reliance on complex electro-mechanical devices!

A collaboration between:
The Self-Assembly Lab, MIT + Stratasys Ltd. + Autodesk Inc

Click to expand...

3D printing has grown in sophistication since the late 1970s; TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits is shaping the next development, which he calls 4D printing, where the fourth dimension is time. This emerging technology will allow us to print objects that then reshape themselves or self-assemble over time. Think: a printed cube that folds before your eyes, or a printed pipe able to sense the need to expand or contract.

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Researcher used 3D printing technology to create structures that “remember” their shape, actively transforming configurations over time in response to environmental stimuli. The video presents a
miniature Eiffel Tower that recovers shape after heating to 60?°C and 3D printed multimaterial grippers used to grab an object.

Credit:
Multimaterial 4D Printing with Tailorable Shape Memory Polymers
Qi Ge, Amir Hosein Sakhaei, Howon Lee, Conner K. Dunn, Nicholas X. Fang & Martin L. Dunn
Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/srep31110

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Researchers created a method for magnetically programming materials to make cubes that are very picky about who they connect with, enabling more scalable self-assembly.

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