Additive Manufacturing for Effective Smart Structures: The Idea of 6D Printing

Journal of Composites Science

SteliosK. Georgantzinos¹  GeorgiosI. Giannopoulos²  PanteleimonA. Bakalis³ 

[1] Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Psachna, Greece;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Peloponnese, 1 Megalou Alexandrou Street, 26334 Patras, Greece;General Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Psachna, Greece;

关键词: additive manufacturing;    6D printing;    4D printing;    3D printing;    smart materials;    nanocomposites;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jcs5050119

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This paper aims to establish six-dimensional (6D) printing as a new branch of additive manufacturing investigating its benefits, advantages as well as possible limitations concerning the design and manufacturing of effective smart structures. The concept of 6D printing, to the authors’ best knowledge, is introduced for the first time. The new method combines the four-dimensional (4D) and five-dimensional (5D) printing techniques. This means that the printing process is going to use five degrees of freedom for creating the final object while the final produced material component will be a smart/intelligent one (i.e., will be capable of changing its shape or properties due to its interaction with an environmental stimulus). A 6D printed structure can be stronger and more effective than a corresponding 4D printed structure, can be manufactured using less material, can perform movements by being exposed to an external stimulus through an interaction mechanism, and it may learn how to reconfigure itself suitably, based on predictions via mathematical modeling and simulations.

【 授权许可】

Unknown