Researchers have helped create a new 3D printing approach for shape-changing materials that are likened to muscles, opening the door for improved applications in robotics as well as biomedical and energy devices.

The liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) structures can crawl, fold, and snap directly after printing. The lightly cross-linked polymer networks change shape significantly upon exposure to certain stimuli, like heat.

The researchers varied the strength of the magnetic field and studied how it and other factors, such as the thickness of each printed layer, affected molecular alignment. This enabled them to print complicated liquid crystalline elastomer shapes that change in specific ways when heated. Aligning the molecules is the key to unlocking the LCEs’ full potential and enabling their use in advanced, functional applications. (Image credit: David Roach/Oregon State University)

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