A graphic shows the process by which a Rice University lab uses 3D printing to make shapeshifting materials that may be useful to make soft robots or as biomedical implants. Courtesy of the Verduzco Laboratory
Rice advances manufacture of complex shapeshifters for soft robots, biomedical implants
Soft robots and biomedical implants that reconfigure themselves upon demand are closer to reality with a new way to print shape shifting materials.
Rafael Verduzco and graduate student Morgan Barnes of Rice’s Brown School of Engineering developed a method to print objects that can be manipulated to take on alternate forms when exposed to changes in temperature, electric current or stress.
The researchers think of this as reactive 4D printing. Their work appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
They first reported their ability to make morphing structures in a mold in 2018. But using the same chemistry for 3D printing limited structures to shapes that sat in the same plane. That meant no bumps or other complex curvatures could be programmed as the alternate shape.
Overcoming that limitation to decouple the printing process from shaping is a significant step toward more useful materials, Verduzco said.
“These materials, once fabricated, will change shape autonomously,” Verduzco said. “We needed a method to control and define this shape change. Our simple idea was to use multiple reactions in sequence to print the material and then dictate how it would change shape. Rather than trying to do this all in one step, our approach gives more flexibility in controlling the initial and final shapes and also allows us to print complex structures.”
The lab’s challenge was to create a liquid crystal polymer “ink” that incorporates mutually exclusive sets of chemical links between molecules. One establishes the original printed shape, and the other can be set by physically manipulating the printed-and-dried material. Curing the alternate form under ultraviolet light locks in those links.
Once the two programmed forms are set, the material can then morph back and forth when, for instance, it’s heated or cooled.
The researchers had to find a polymer mix that could be printed in a catalyst bath and still hold its original programmed shape.
“There were a lot of parameters we had to optimize — from the solvents and catalyst used, to degree of swelling, and ink formula — to allow the ink to solidify rapidly enough to print while not inhibiting the desired final shape actuation,” Barnes said.
One remaining limitation of the process is the ability to print unsupported structures, like columns. To do so would require a solution that gels just enough to support itself during printing, she said. Gaining that ability will allow researchers to print far more complex combinations of shapes.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Shape shifting materials
- From Runway to Retail: How Technology is Revolutionizing Fashion
Step into the world where innovation meets style, where high fashion seamlessly integrates with cutting-edge technology. Join us as we explore how the fusion of runway and retail is transforming the ...
- How Champagne Lallier’s Dominique Demarville Blends Precision And Art
At Champagne Lallier, cellar master Dominique Demarville uses a mix of winemaking techniques to produce wines noted for freshness and intensity.
- Shape-shifting cancer cell discovery reveals two potential drug targets against skin cancer
Cancer cells can change shape to travel around the body and spread New technique allows scientists to see cells in 3D, and study how they know where they are and what shape they should change into ...
- Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robot is a swiveling, shape-shifting nightmare
It’s alive! A day after announcing it was retiring Atlas, its hydraulic robot, Boston Dynamics has introduced a new, all-electric version of its humanoid machine. The next-generation Atlas robot ...
- Shape-shifting cancer cell discovery reveals potential skin cancer drug targets
Cancer cells can change shape to travel around the body and spread (metastasize), but how they know when to do this has remained elusive. Researchers have now used a new technique to identify two ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Shape shifting materials
[google_news title=”” keyword=”shape shifting materials” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Reactive 4D printing
- What Is Reactive Hypoglycemia?
Fasting hypoglycemia usually results from an underlying disease. Reactive hypoglycemia often happens not long after you eat. You may hear it called postprandial hypoglycemia. The answer isn’t ...
- How 4D printing brings a temporal dimension to additive manufacturing
In a world where flexibility and adaptability are the watchwords of transformation, 4D printing is the kind of technology that could offer new solutions. This additive manufacturing technique prod ...
- Applications of 4D-Printed Shape-Memory Polymers
Four-dimensional (4D) printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which three-dimensional (3D) printing is combined with smart materials that have shape memory. During 4D printing ...
- Additive Manufacturing Trends in 2024
Additionally, 4D printing using reactive materials is anticipated to revolutionize industries like aerospace and medical technology. A rise in mid-range printer technologies catering to ...
- 4D-printed breast implants, you say? But only for cancer patients
4D printing differs from 3D by offering "dynamic" print-outs "that are able to change their morphology and/or characteristics", but at the same time, "are predictable and programmable, and are ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Reactive 4D printing
[google_news title=”” keyword=”reactive 4D printing” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]