(Nanowerk Spotlight) Compared to creating static objects with 3D printing, 4D printing systems add time as the fourth dimension to 3D printing: 4D printing allows a 3D printed structure to change its ...

Advances in machine learning and shape-memory polymers are enabling engineers to design for mechanical performance first and ...

4D printing enables 3D printed structures to change its configurations over time and is used in a wide variety of fields such as soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices. Different ...

Imagine a single piece of material that can change its shape, stiffness, and function—on demand—like a Swiss Army knife made of plastic. That's what researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology ...

A recent article published in Small Science introduces fully bioderived, four-dimensional (4D) printable shape memory polymers (SMPs) with linear tunability and remotely controlled actuation ...

LANZHOU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have developed a biodegradable shape memory polymer (SMP) using 4D-printing technology that is suitable for medical devices, according to the Lanzhou ...

The research team of China’s Xi’an Jiaotong University used the reversible thermochrome deformation ability of liquid crystal elastomers, combined with the excellent mechanical properties of ...

Nowadays, 3D printing allows items to be created from a wide variety of materials — plastic, ceramic, glass, metal and even stranger ingredients such as chocolate and living cells. The machines work ...

Whilst 3D printing continues to grow in popularity, some scientists are already looking at the next step – how to make their objects transform from one shape to another using 4D printing. Essentially, ...