研究ers atHarvard Universityhave developed a new method of 3D printing. Termed multimaterial multinozzle 3D printing, or MM3D, the method seeks to help define the emerging paradigm of voxel by voxel fabrication.
In this paradigm, 3D printed parts are composed of minute building blocks. Each of these blocks has a different material composition, and are precisely arranged to tune part performance, i.e. softer materials for flexibility, harder materials for pressure resistance. A type of “true” 3D printing, the method is being explored in order to produce functional objects within a single process, rather than relying on assembly of different parts.
“这种方法可以快速设计和制造体素的物质，这是我们领域中新兴的范式，”describescorresponding author詹妮弗·A·刘易斯教授。Indicating the impact of MM3D, Professor Lewis adds:
“用我们的广泛的调色板功能、结构, and biological inks, disparate materials can now be seamlessly integrated into 3D-printed objects on-demand.”
One nozzle, 8 materials, 50 exchanges per second
The core concept of MM3D is a printhead containing multiple channels for the delivery of up to eight different materials through one single nozzle. Each of these nozzles can switch between materials up to 50 times per second. To prevent any unwanted mixing of materials, the channels contain Y-shaped junctions that prevent material backflow, preserving the quality and detail of the printed object.
通过在同一打印头中切换材料，并添加进一步的喷嘴以同时存放体素，MM3D会大大减少打印时间。详细介绍该方法的论文的联合第一作者Mark Skylar-Scott解释说：“当使用常规挤出的3D打印机打印对象时，将其打印所需的时间与对象的长度进行了立方体缩放，因为打印喷嘴必须在三个维度上移动，而不仅仅是一个。
“MM3D’s combination of multinozzle arrays with the ability to switch between multiple inks rapidly effectively eliminates the time lost to switching printheads and helps get the scaling law down from cubic to linear, so you can print multimaterial, periodic 3D objects much more quickly.”
As a demonstration of the technology, the team, all working within theWYSS生物学启发工程研究所and约翰·鲍尔森工程与应用科学学院（海洋）, 3D printed a moving soft robot. Designed with an origami-like architecture, and inner channels, the robot can be made to walk by compressing the channels with a vacuum. Moving at almost half an inch per second, this robot was capable of transporting objects up to nearing eight times its own weight.
Voxelated Soft Matter via Multimaterial, Multinozzle 3D Printing从Wyss InstituteonVimeo。
A myriad of material combinations
Voxel 3D打印的体素是一种通过Stratasys Polyjet技术进行商业探索的方法Grabcad Voxel软件。In 2018, Neri Oxman and colleagues at MIT’s Mediated Matter Group filed a patent relating to a process ofpreparing files for voxel by voxel fabrication。
将他们的共同专业知识结合在一起，MIT的中介物质小组和Wyss Institute的团队最近将像素by像素3D打印方法应用于turn MRI and CT scan data into a detailed medical model。
With the MM3D technique, the Harvard team are experimenting with new materials, smaller nozzles, and larger nozzle arrays to expand the capabilities of the method. One particular area that warrants further exploration is the use of reactive materials. Co-first author Jochen Mueller comments, “Because MM3D printing can produce objects so quickly, one can use reactive materials whose properties change over time, such as epoxies, silicones, polyurethanes, or bio-inks.”
详细信息MM3D的论文标题为“通过多材料多键嘴3D打印的体素软件”并发表在Nature。它是由马克·A·斯凯拉·斯科特（Mark A. Skylar-Scott），乔钦·穆勒（Jochen Mueller），克拉斯·W·维瑟（Claas W. Visser）和詹妮弗·A·刘易斯（Jennifer A. Lewis）合着的。
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特色图表显示了哈佛大学的多材多材多源3D打印（MM3D）。通过哈佛大学Wyss研究所的照片
