Shape Memory Polymers
3D Printing News Briefs, April 15, 2021: Essentium, Titanium GmbH, SUTD, QUT, & SUSTech
We’re starting 3D Printing News Briefs today with a little bit of business news, as Essentium has just now announced the newest appointment to its executive leadership team. Moving on,…
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST): Multicolor 4D Printing of Shape-Memory Polymers
Researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) take 3D printing to the next level, releasing findings from their study in the recently published ‘Multicolor 4D printing of…
Upward Trends & Developments in 4D Printing with Gel Materials & Other Techniques
Researchers from Japan and the US are filling us in on some of the latest trends in digital fabrication and materials, highlighted in the recently published ‘Review – Recent Progresses…
Testing the Mechanical Properties of FDM 3D Printed Shape Memory Polymers
University of Alberta thesis student Danesh Zonoobi takes fabrication potential to the next level, exploring the world of 4D in ‘Mechanical Properties of Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing of Shape Memory Polymers.’…
Desktop FDM 3D Printed Shape Memory Polymers Create QR Codes
In the recently published ‘Additive Manufacturing of Information Carriers Based on Shape Memory Polyester Urethane’ Dilip Chalissery, Thorsten Pretsch, Sarah Staub, and Heiko Andrä explored more in the 4D printing…
4D Printed Shape Memory Polymers Given Better Performance & Recyclability
Authors Ang Li, Adithya Challapalli, and Guoqiang Li explore a trend that continues to grow: 4D printing. Their findings are explained in the recently published “4D Printing of Recyclable Lightweight…
Improving Mechanical Properties of 3D Printing with Continuous Carbon Fiber Shape Memory Composites
Researchers Yongsan An and Woon-Ryeol Yu explore improved 3D printing through the study of alternative materials. In the recently published ‘Three-dimensional printing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced shape memory polymer composites,’…
3D Printing Twisting and Rotational Bistable Structures
In a paper entitled “3D printing of twisting and rotational bistable structures with tuning elements,” a group of researchers points out that most 3D printed structures so far have been…
Researchers Use Shape Memory Polymers to Increase Stiffness of 3D Printed Soft Actuators
While soft robots are very flexible, and adaptive to more complex environments, they aren’t great at completing tasks with a high load capacity due to the low stiffness of constituent…
ETH Zurich Researchers Develop 4D Printed Load-Bearing Polymer Structures
There are numerous issues involved with transporting things into space, one being that some of them are just too big and bulky. One solution is to make those items small…
3D Printed Swimming Soft Robot Uses Shape Memory Polymers to Paddle Forwards and Backwards
In November, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) published a study that explained how shape memory polymers can be the catalyst for making adaptable materials that will…
Researchers 3D Print Shape-Changing Structures That Expand with Heat
“Tensegrity” is a term that refers to a structural system of floating rods in compression and cables in continuous tension. It combines the words “tensional integrity,” and has been used…
Self-Folding Medical Implants Combine 3D Printing & Origami
Origami can be nearly magical, but there’s more to it than artistry; there is also some highly complex mathematics. As with so many artistic endeavors, it turns out there are…
New Essemplex Shape Memory 3D Printing Filament Can Be Reshaped Again and Again
3D printing materials just keep getting cooler. “Specialty” filaments have been on the rise, with the introduction of materials with conductive, magnetic, and glow in the dark properties, just to…
Researchers Use SLA Technology for Shape Memory Polymers for the First Time
While 3D printing is currently poised at the forefront of technology, 4D printing is nipping right at its heels. This next dimension in fabrication is really just 3D printing accentuated with the use…
3D Printing Goes 4D with Smart Memory Materials That Self-Assemble
The concept of 4D printing, a term coined by Skylar Tibbits in his 2013 Ted Talk, was developed to create materials that could be manufactured or assembled in one configuration…
