Engineers from MIT and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) are using light to print three-dimensional structures that "remember" their original shapes. Even after being stretched, twisted, and bent at extreme ...
Polymers
Aug 26, 2016
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74
Polymers that visibly change shape when exposed to temperature changes are nothing new. But a research team led by Chemical Engineering Professor Mitch Anthamatten at the University of Rochester created a material that undergoes ...
Polymers
Feb 9, 2016
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1687
Using components made from smart shape-memory materials with slightly different responses to heat, researchers have demonstrated a four-dimensional printing technology that allowed creation of complex self-folding structures.
Engineering
Sep 21, 2015
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321
Although most materials slightly expand when heated, there is a new class of rubber-like material that not only self-stretches upon cooling; it reverts back to its original shape when heated, all without physical manipulation.
Polymers
Feb 13, 2015
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34
(Phys.org) —Shape memory polymers are "smart" plastic materials that can be transformed into a temporary shape and then return to their original shape, triggered by an external stimulus such as heat or pressure. These polymers ...
Polymers
Jul 18, 2014
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0
(Phys.org) —Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Tokyo have created electronic devices that become soft when implanted inside the body and can deploy to grip 3-D objects, such as large ...
Materials Science
May 13, 2014
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0
(Phys.org) —Mechanical Engineering Professor Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng has a simple office demonstration of how shape-memory polymers work. He takes the material, which is formed into a compact flower bud, drops the bud in ...
Polymers
Nov 22, 2013
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0
(Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have successfully added a fourth dimension to their printing technology, opening up exciting possibilities for the creation and use of adaptive, composite materials ...
General Physics
Oct 22, 2013
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0
(Phys.org) —It's squishy, synthetic, flexible, mostly water and almost as tough as rubber. No, it's not "flubber"—it's a hydrogel, and now scientists at The University of Akron are exploring new biomedical uses for this ...
Materials Science
Jul 4, 2013
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0
(Phys.org) —A team from Harvard and MIT presented their work at the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Germany. Their contribution: "Robot Self-Assembly by Folding: A Printed Inchworm ...
