3D printing technology has been in existence for more than 30 years and now the manufacturing industries are working on the new 4D printing technology by discovering new materials, applications, and other technologies. If you are wondering what is a 4- Dimensional object is then through our blog and entertaining you will learn everything about the new 4D printing technology.
What Is 4D Printing?
4D printing is the process by which the 3D printed object transforms into another structure. This process happens through the influence of external energy input like temperature, light, and other environmental stimuli. The purpose of this 4D printing is to combine design and technology to invent the self-programmable material that focuses on manufacturing, product assembly, performance, and reimagining construction.
How Does 4D Printing Work?
The 4D printing technology is said to be the future because they use commercial 3D printers, like Polyjet 3D printers. They use a “smart material” like hydrogel or a shape memory polymer. Thanks to their thermomechanical possessions and other additional material properties, the smart material exists. They have given the attributes of shape change and are able to be differentiated from the common 3D printing materials.
Who Created 4D Printing?
- A. Skylar Tibbits
- B. Chuck Hull
- C. Vyomesh Joshi
- D. None of the Above
On the other hand, objects that are made with 3D Printing technology were often characterized as rigourness, which shows that the 4D printed organs also change their original space once it is printed. This is the simple difference between 3D Vs 4D.
Advantages of 4D Printing Technology
The well-known advantage of 4D printing technology is its computational folding. Even objects that are larger than the printers can also be printed in a single part. The 4D printing organs or objects can change their shape, unfold, shrink, and can also be compressed for 3D printing.
Another advantage of 4D printing technology is the usage of other possible applied materials. As of now, we have seen experiments held on Multi Material shape memory polymers. These shape-changing memory polymers will resemble the perfect tailorable shapes and that can be very useful in the field of the medical industry.
Applications of 4D Printing Technology
Even Though there haven’t been many applications of 4D printing technology we can foresee many applications of 4D printing.
The applications include
- Self-repair piping system
- Self-assembly furniture
- XL 4D printing in extreme conditions
- Medical technology
- Soft robotics
- Sensor technology