Smart Materials
Posted by chapulinaaa
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Smart Materials April 12, 2010 07:23AM |
Hello everyone!
Lately I’ve been interested in the potential of smart (or intelligent) materials, which are materials that react to various forms of external stimulus, such as temperature, electricity, light and so on. Maybe the most famous example are piezoelectric materials, which expand and contract in response to applied voltage. They are present in speakers, lighters, etc.
Research is being done with smart materials at the moment with the intention of simplifying existing mechanisms. For example, instead of having various sensors, joints and actuators on a robot arm, you could have just a material which acts as if it had all of these. Some of these materials are alloys, others are formed by different layers of different materials, and all together they sense, process and actuate.
A quick search on YouTube shows various such materials in action, on engines, muscle wires, etc. Also check out NASA’s morphing airplane concept. It all sounds like a dream, the possibilities of where this technology could go are limitless. Kind of like RepRap, no?
There are still various things to be improved before RepRap can print all parts of an exact copy of itself. Motors for example are still very complex. But what if we could simplify them by using smart materials which actuate, instead of coils and magnets? One of the most promising things about smart materials is exactly the change in the philosophy of design.
In order to make it possible, the first we have to ask is if there are any smart materials which could be printable. If we want to use them with FDM technology, we have to know if they can be easily melted, and then retain their properties after cooled. Also it is of interest for RepRap that these materials can be easily obtained anywhere in the world and are cheap.
Is that possible? Do such materials exist? Can they be incorporated in RepRap technology? Can we adapt the RepRap design in order to accommodate such mechanisms? Would it be simpler, or more complicated? Maybe more accessible?
Also, the field of smart materials has still a lot to be improved. A muscle wire does not have the precision of a stepper motor, for example, which makes it not fit to be used in 3D printers yet. However, I think that it’s interesting to keep in mind right now is that such materials are being developed. And due to the simplicity they are promising, they would be of great interest for the development of a 3D printer which can print itself. Don’t you think?
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. I don’t know much yet about 3D printers or smart materials, but I’m planning on conducting research involving the two pretty soon, so any comments and knowledge shared about both acting together would be really appreciated. Maybe to give me an idea of which path the research should follow… Any hints would help tremendously!
Thanks for the patience reading this whole thing!
Chapu
Lately I’ve been interested in the potential of smart (or intelligent) materials, which are materials that react to various forms of external stimulus, such as temperature, electricity, light and so on. Maybe the most famous example are piezoelectric materials, which expand and contract in response to applied voltage. They are present in speakers, lighters, etc.
Research is being done with smart materials at the moment with the intention of simplifying existing mechanisms. For example, instead of having various sensors, joints and actuators on a robot arm, you could have just a material which acts as if it had all of these. Some of these materials are alloys, others are formed by different layers of different materials, and all together they sense, process and actuate.
A quick search on YouTube shows various such materials in action, on engines, muscle wires, etc. Also check out NASA’s morphing airplane concept. It all sounds like a dream, the possibilities of where this technology could go are limitless. Kind of like RepRap, no?
There are still various things to be improved before RepRap can print all parts of an exact copy of itself. Motors for example are still very complex. But what if we could simplify them by using smart materials which actuate, instead of coils and magnets? One of the most promising things about smart materials is exactly the change in the philosophy of design.
In order to make it possible, the first we have to ask is if there are any smart materials which could be printable. If we want to use them with FDM technology, we have to know if they can be easily melted, and then retain their properties after cooled. Also it is of interest for RepRap that these materials can be easily obtained anywhere in the world and are cheap.
Is that possible? Do such materials exist? Can they be incorporated in RepRap technology? Can we adapt the RepRap design in order to accommodate such mechanisms? Would it be simpler, or more complicated? Maybe more accessible?
Also, the field of smart materials has still a lot to be improved. A muscle wire does not have the precision of a stepper motor, for example, which makes it not fit to be used in 3D printers yet. However, I think that it’s interesting to keep in mind right now is that such materials are being developed. And due to the simplicity they are promising, they would be of great interest for the development of a 3D printer which can print itself. Don’t you think?
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. I don’t know much yet about 3D printers or smart materials, but I’m planning on conducting research involving the two pretty soon, so any comments and knowledge shared about both acting together would be really appreciated. Maybe to give me an idea of which path the research should follow… Any hints would help tremendously!
Thanks for the patience reading this whole thing!
Chapu
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Re: Smart Materials April 14, 2010 01:29PM |
Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 180 |
I wouldn't expect a reprap to be able to print a completed smart material unless it was one of the smart plastics - even then I'm not sure, but I only know about smart plastics from brief article skimming.
It may be possible for reprap to print out some base structure that could later
be sintered. I know someone was doing something with printing ceramics.
Or reprap could do a wax mold for casting purposes of smart structures.
It may be possible for reprap to print out some base structure that could later
be sintered. I know someone was doing something with printing ceramics.
Or reprap could do a wax mold for casting purposes of smart structures.
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