![]() ![]() It could be used for neck braces or helmets in combat situations, for soft robots, or perhaps integrated into car seats that can harden when an impact is detected to protect a passenger's neck.Įxamples of 4D printing that have already been developed include water valves, printed from hydrogen, shoes that change and mould themselves around your feet and weather adaptive clothing. When that force is removed, the object returns to its natural, flexible state. For example, a lattice could be printed with particles that when exposed to a magnetic field move closer together and either change shape or stiffen. Stents that open up blood vessels when they reach their final destination are also a potential application.Īnother possible use for 4D printing is using magnetic fields to stiffen and loosen a material. Timelapse of a 4D printed wood aperture that opens and closes when exposed to waterĤD printing could also be used to produce "medication" that changes according to bodily conditions for example, its effects could be triggered when it hits stomach acid, or when the body's temperature causes it to change. 3D printed limbs are already a thing, but the extra changeable dimension of 4D could revolutionise this process. For example, bioprinting, which uses stem cells printed on a surface that can be cultured and then transformed over time to become a living thing, could potentially be very effective for developing human skin for cosmetic testing.Īnother use, one that is probably closer to becoming mainstream is 4D print prosthetic limbs that can change according to touch. Here is arguably where 4D printing is most exciting because its use cases are so varied, particularly within the medical field. When this stress is released due to changing environmental conditions, the object will change. During the printing process, the materials are put under stress that is then stored in the finished product. Stress relaxation can also be used to print 4D materials. This could, potentially, allow the object to move in a particular way as one layer changes shape and the other doesn't. For example, one layer could react to one kind of light, while the next layer remains unchanged. Known as Stereolithography, this adds a completely new dimension to 3D printed goods. One of the innovative things about 4D printing is that materials with different properties can be layered to create an entirely different medium. Although the manner in which they're printed is the same as 3D methods, the conditions may require careful regulation. These are either liquids or gasses that can become a totally different medium with new properties when exposed to certain light sources, wavelengths or humidity levels. What is 3D printing? What can 3D printing be used for? Looking back, my 3D-printing dream was never a goerĮlectroactive polymers can also be used to produce some amazing creations. ![]()
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