robotic hand with working ligaments and tendons can now be 3D-printed in one run. The creepy accomplishment was made possible by a new approach to additive manufacturing that can print both rigid and elastic materials at the same time in high resolution.
The new work is the result of a collaboration between researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spin-out called Inkbit, based in Medford, Mass. The group has devised a new 3D inkjet-printing technique capable of using a wider range of materials than previous devices.
In a new paper in Nature, the group has shown for the first time that the technology can be used to print complex moving devices made of multiple materials in a single print job. These include a bio-inspired robotic hand, a six-legged robot with a grabber, and a pump modeled on the heart.
“What was really exciting for us is that this technology, for the first time, allowed us to print complete functional systems that work right off the print bed,” says Thomas Buchner, a Ph.D. student at ETH Zurich and first author of the paper describing the work.
The new technique operates on principles similar to those of the kind of inkjet printer you might find in an office. Instead of colored inks, though, the printer sprays out resins that harden when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, and rather than just printing a single sheet, it builds up 3D objects layer by layer. It’s also capable of printing at extremely high resolution, with voxels—the 3D equivalent of pixels–just a few micrometers across.
" /> robotic hand with working ligaments and tendons can now be 3D-printed in one run. The creepy accomplishment was made possible by a new approach to additive manufacturing that can print both rigid and elastic materials at the same time in high resolution.
The new work is the result of a collaboration between researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spin-out called Inkbit, based in Medford, Mass. The group has devised a new 3D inkjet-printing technique capable of using a wider range of materials than previous devices.
In a new paper in Nature, the group has shown for the first time that the technology can be used to print complex moving devices made of multiple materials in a single print job. These include a bio-inspired robotic hand, a six-legged robot with a grabber, and a pump modeled on the heart.
“What was really exciting for us is that this technology, for the first time, allowed us to print complete functional systems that work right off the print bed,” says Thomas Buchner, a Ph.D. student at ETH Zurich and first author of the paper describing the work.
The new technique operates on principles similar to those of the kind of inkjet printer you might find in an office. Instead of colored inks, though, the printer sprays out resins that harden when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, and rather than just printing a single sheet, it builds up 3D objects layer by layer. It’s also capable of printing at extremely high resolution, with voxels—the 3D equivalent of pixels–just a few micrometers across.
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