Multimaterial 3D Printing of Multifunctional Materials

The Additive Assembly Laboratory (AAL) at BU has a variety of active projects that focus on multimaterial 3D printing of multifunctional materials, ranging from 4D printing (3D printing materials that change shape over time in response to a stimulus – time being the fourth axis), 3D printed optics, robots, soft electronics, and wearable haptics and thermoelectric devices. We also work on developing new automated techniques combining manufacturing and in-line and near-line material characterization to accelerate materials discovery and development. Many of these projects integrate a variety of disciplines ranging from chemistry and materials science (for designing and characterizing inks), robotics (for integrating instrumentation and automating processes), fluids (for understanding 3D printing processes), characterization, and design and modeling (developing simulations that describe results from our experiments). The broad goal of this REU project will be to introduce the student to our multimaterial 3D printing projects and then focus on set of aims tailored specifically for the REU’s background and interest, which can be accomplished within a 10 week period of time.