3D-printed ‘programmable’ rubber, plastic make robots safer, more durable

3D-printedModern technological devices and gadgets like robots, drones, smartphones and computers are not the sturdiest things in the world. They often break because of they lack the proper padding and protection they need.

But researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a new method for 3D printing soft materials that could make robots safer and more precise in their movements.

The new “programmable viscoelastic material” (PVM) technique for 3D printing  allows the users to customise every single part of a 3D-printed object to the exact levels of stiffness and elasticity they want, depending on the task they need for it.

The researchers are able to create these customized viscoelastic materials by programming via a computer the exact levels of stiffness and elasticity needed in each part of the printed product. To produce a component with the precise firmness and springiness needed, solid materials like rubber and plastic are combined with non-curing liquids. The part is also printed in layers so the users have more control over its properties and behavior.

According to the team’s research paper, drone manufacturers are generally limited to using mass-produced materials that are only available in specific sizes and at specific damping levels. Giving manufacturers the ability to create safe, shock-absorbing components themselves would mean they’d also have the ability to print and test materials which could lead to safer products.

“It’s hard to customise soft objects using existing fabrication methods, since you need to do injection moulding or some other industrial process,” says Jeffrey Lipton, one of the study’s lead authors, adding that 3D printing opens up more possibilities.

Aside from the potential applications of the method for the industrial, mechanical and technological industries, the PVM technique could also be used for 3D printing other products like safer, rubbery helmets as well as more shock-absorbing running shoes and headgear.

“Being able to program different regions of an object has important implications for things like helmets,” said Robert  Mac Curdy, another lead author of the study. “You could have certain parts made of materials that are comfortable for your head to rest on, and other shock-absorbing materials for the sections that are most likely to be impacted in a collision.”

The paper will be presented at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Korea. The study was written by CSAIL Director Daniela Rus alongside three postdocs – Lipton, MacCurdy, and Shuguang Li.