Abstract
Shape-shifting materials are a powerful tool for the fabrication of reconfigurable materials. Upon activation, not only a change in their shape but also a large shift in their material properties can be realized. As compared with the 4D printing of 2D-to-3D shape-shifting materials, the 4D printing of reconfigurable (i.e., 3D-to-3D shape-shifting) materials remains challenging. That is caused by the intrinsically 2D nature of the layer-by-layer manner of fabrication, which limits the possible shape-shifting modes of 4D printed reconfigurable materials. Here, we present a single-step production method for the fabrication and programming of 3D-to-3D shape-changing materials, which requires nothing more than a simple modification of widely available fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers. This simple modification allows the printer to print on curved surfaces. We demonstrate how this modified printer can be combined with various design strategies to achieve high levels of complexity and versatility in the 3D-to-3D shape-shifting behavior of our reconfigurable materials and devices. We showcase the potential of the proposed approach for the fabrication of deployable medical devices including deployable bifurcation stents that are otherwise extremely challenging to create.
Highlights
1234567890():,; Shape-shifting empowers the development of designer materials with advanced functionalities and properties
The method we present here for the fabrication of reconfigurable materials, which requires nothing more than a simple modification of widely available fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers and inexpensive PLA filaments paves the way for different types of potential applications
Available FDM 3D printers were modified through the addition of a simple device that can be manufactured in most basic workshops
Summary
1234567890():,; Shape-shifting empowers the development of designer materials with advanced functionalities and properties. The main working principle is the introduction of a rationally designed pattern of spatially varying anisotropies into the material Such a pattern of anisotropy together with the memory stored in the extruded deposited filaments makes it possible to program complex 2D-to-3D shape-shifting behaviors into the fabric of the 4D printed object. While highly effective for 2D-to-3D shape-shifting, our previously proposed approach, as well as similar approaches proposed by others[28,29], are seriously limited by the in-plane nature of their introduced anisotropies, which makes it very challenging to create reconfigurable materials We circumvent this limitation by printing otherwise planar structures on curved surfaces. We demonstrate the potential of our proposed approach through the design and fabrication of various types of reconfigurable materials and devices, including a number of deployable cardiovascular stents
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