Recent Advances in the Additive Manufacturing of Soft, Morphing Matter

The convergence of human creativity, bioinspiration, and advanced computational tools holds the potential to yield the most captivating — and efficient — designs for new engineering materials, structures, and systems. Yet, realizing these designs in the physical realm presents an ongoing challenge. Amidst this pursuit, Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D Printing, has emerged as a compelling alternative to conventional methodologies. However, it has yet to fully meet its lofty expectations, often faltering when confronted with the intricate demands of materials options, structural complexity, throughput speed, and repeatability. This is particularly limiting in soft matter fabrication where specific requirements apply, such as fluid impermeability and multifunctionality via integrated actuation and sensing. Consequently, these limitations have hampered advancements in morphing matter and related research domains where fabrication is the bottleneck. In this talk, I will present how we can design and physically realize novel materials with exceptional properties for applications in soft robotics and beyond. This includes overcoming mutual exclusivities, integrating multifunctionality, and surpassing properties found in natural materials. First, we will explore how specific design requirements can lead to new AM technologies, realizing designs that cannot be manufactured through other means. Second, we will see how these specialized AM processes can inspire unexpected designs outside the initial scope. Lastly, I will showcase examples of new fabrication techniques that address the general limitations of AM, expanding the available design space for soft matter fabrication.