4-D Printing...

Image Source: Harvard Gazette

Topics: 3D Objects, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Biology

If you are tired of the hype around 3-D printing, brace yourself, because it’s time to add another “D.” Yesterday, researchers unveiled a new process they can use to “4-D print” flat objects that change into complex shapes when they are immersed in water.

The new demonstration builds on the microscale printing process developed under the leadership of Jennifer Lewis, a materials scientist at Harvard. The images are captivating, but they aren’t just pretty pictures; they also hint at a fundamental new capability that could be applied in useful ways.

This is not the first time we’ve heard about 4-D printing, which refers to printing things that are “programmed” to change shapes later on. Three years ago Skylar Tibbits, a research scientist in MIT’s architecture department, introduced the term at the TED Conference. Tibbits’s process employed two materials, a rigid one and a softer one that expands when put in water.

Technology Review:
Gorgeous New 4-D Printing Process Makes More Than Just Eye Candy, Mike Orcutt