Direct 4D printing for double-curvature and multimodal morphing

Most 4D printings utilize 1D structural deformation — bending and coiling to morph a flat shape by controlling only a single curvature, limiting the realization of complex 3D curved surfaces with two curvatures. We quantitatively analyze the morphing of a 2D plate into doubly curved surfaces on a direct 4D printing of a single isotropic material employing anisotropy of shape memory effect during the extrusion-based printing. We also construct an inverse-design algorithm to identify the printing conditions for a target 3D shape, such as the extruding direction per layer, the thickness ratio of the layers, the melting temperature, and the activation temperature.

For more information, you may check this paper:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352431622001043