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Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

Functionally graded materials (FGM) allow diverse applications in multidisciplinary fields from biomedicine to architecture. However, their fabrication can be tedious relative to gradient continuity, interfacial bending and directional freedom. Most commercial design software does not include property gradient data—hindering the exploration of design space suited for FGMs. In a new report on Science Advances, Pedro A.G.S. Giachini and a research team in architecture and urban planning, physical intelligence and medicine, in the U.S., Germany and Turkey designed a combined approach of materials engineering and digital processing. The method facilitated extrusion-based multimaterial, additive manufacturing of cellulose-based, tunable viscoelastic materials.

The constructs maintained continuous, high-contrast and multidimensional stiffness gradients. Giachini et al. established a method to engineer sets of cellulose-based materials with similar compositions, yet with distinct mechanical and rheological properties. The team also parallelly developed a digital workflow to embed gradient information into design models with integrated fabrication path planning. The team combined the physical and digital tools to achieve similar stiffness gradients through multiple pathways to achieve open design possibilities that were previously limited to rigid coupling of material and geometry.

The new technique could be applied toward low-cost, bio-degradable products.

More information: P. A. G. S. Giachini et al. Additive manufacturing of cellulose-based materials with continuous, multidirectional stiffness gradients, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay0929

Daniela Rus et al. Design, fabrication and control of soft robots, Nature (2015). DOI: 10.1038/nature14543

Falguni Pati et al. Biomimetic 3-D tissue printing for soft tissue regeneration, Biomaterials (2015). DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.05.043

Original Submission