| Description | ABSTRACT: Precise control of an object’s construction and material composition enables novel performance in devices. Over the past four decades, 3D Printing emerged as a transformative technology for fabricating polymeric machines in previously inaccessible architectures. However, the restrictive process requirements limit possible chemistries, and consequently, the range of available material properties. In order to unlock applications in soft robotics, biomedicine, agriculture, and soft wearable technologies, numerous academic and industrial research efforts are underway with the goal of developing materials and printing processes that combine intricate geometric structures with complex material properties. In this talk, I will highlight our recent efforts to implement a “multi-stage” framework when designing 3D printable materials—overcoming the structure-process-property relationship by utilizing multiple reactive steps during fabrication. Beyond expanding the range of material properties, these multi-stage chemistries overcome endemic issues (print speed, total build volume, multi-material fabrication, recyclability) with industrial scale applications of 3D printing. |
|---|