3D Printing Method Creates Soft Actuators with Switchable Heat-Driven Motion

3D printing method creates soft actuators with switchable heat-driven motion

Soft materials that change shape in response to heat are attracting growing interest in applications ranging from soft robotics to wearable technologies and biomedical devices. However, conventional extrusion-based 3D printing limits how these materials move because molecules inside each printed filament align in only one direction, restricting every filament to a single actuation mode.

New 3D Printing Technique Creates Materials That Stretch or Shrink When Heated

Scientists have developed a new 3D printing technique that can create soft materials programmed to either stretch or shrink when heated. The advance could eventually lead to more capable soft robots, artificial muscles, wearable devices and medical tools that change shape inside the body. The research was led by Professor Suk-kyun Ahn of Pusan National […] The post New 3D Printing Technique Creates Materials That Stretch or Shrink When Heated ap…

3D printing method for switchable soft actuators

Researchers create a printable liquid crystal elastomer that switches molecular alignment to produce opposite motions on demand from a single material.