Airicist
2nd February 2016, 04:14
"Novel 4D printing method blossoms from botanical inspiration (http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/239)"
January 25, 2016
Airicist
2nd February 2016, 04:15
https://youtu.be/7Q_Fu1KlVac
4D Printing: Shapeshifting Architecture
Published on Jan 25, 2016
A team at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS has developed a new microscale printing method to create transformable objects. These "4D-printed" objects go a step beyond 3D printing to incorporate a fourth dimension–time.
The method was inspired by the way plants change shape over time in response to environmental stimuli. This orchid-shaped structure is printed with a hydrogel composite ink containing aligned cellulose fibrils, which enable anisotropic swelling. A proprietary mathematical model developed by the team precisely predicts how the fibrils will swell in water.
After printing, the 4D orchid is immersed in water to activate its shape transformation.
Credit: A.S. Gladman, E. Matsumoto, L.K. Sanders, and J.A. Lewis / Wyss Institute at Harvard University