Our simple idea was to use multiple reactions in sequence to print the material and then dictate how it would change shape.
“We needed a method to control and define this shape change. Verduzco explains that, overcoming that limitation to decouple the 3D printing process from shaping is a significant step toward more useful materials: “These materials, once fabricated, will change shape autonomously,” Verduzco states. This means that no bumps or other complex curvatures could be programmed as the alternate shape. Using this formulation for 3D printing, they found that structures were limited to shapes that sat in the same plane. The Rice researchers, Rafael Verduzco and graduate student Morgan Barnes of Rice’s Brown School of Engineering, first reported their research into morphing materials in 2018. Researchers aboard the study suggest that soft robots and biomedical implants that reconfigure themselves upon demand are closer to reality with the new technique, which they term as reactive 4D printing.ĭecoupling the 3D printing process from shape-programmingĤD printing is a method of 3D printing whereby the fabricated objects undergo a shape-shifting process over time using materials that are able to morph. The new method allows 3D printed objects to be manipulated to take on alternate forms when exposed to changes in temperature, electric current or stress.
Researchers from Rice University in Houston, Texas, have developed a new method for enabling increased control over shape-shifting materials in 4D printing, thereby making the process more practical.
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