Tech. Review

    4D Printing
Technology

3D Printing technology has existed for almost 30 years now. Yet, while the Additive Manufacturing industry is still discovering new applications, new materials and new 3D printers, another technology is arising. It is called 4D Printing and is coming straight from the future!

4D printing is the process through which a 3D printed object transforms itself into another structure over the influence of external energy input as temperature, light or other environmental stimuli.

The most obvious advantage of 4D printing is that through computational folding, objects larger than printers can be printed as only one part. Since the 4D printed objects can change shape, can shrink and unfold, objects that are too large to fit a printer can be compressed for 3D printing into their secondary form.

Another advantage of the 4D Printing technology is the usage of the possible applied materials. 4D printing has a vast potential to revolutionize the world of materials as we know it today. Imagine 4D printing being applied to a variety of smart materials that today we cannot even imagine! Until now, we have seen experiments of Multi material Shape Memory Polymers. Materials like the ones featured in the video below, “remember” their shape, actively transforming configurations over time in response to environmental stimuli.