Scientists fromBinghamton University’sWatson School of Engineering have used 3D printing to produce a reconfigurable liquid metal lattice hand.
Created by combining liquid metal with a 3D printed shell skeleton, the metal appendage would not look out of place as part of the shape-shifting T-1000 terminator. The novel hybrid manufacturing approach integrates 3D printing, vacuum casting, and conformal coating to produce a shape memory effect, which holds the lattice material in place within any pre-designed shell.
The technique gives the metal lattice recoverable energy absorption, tunable rigidity, and reconfigurable behaviors, and this lends itself to maintenance and repair applications in the aerospace industry, according to the Binghamton scientists.
液态金属晶格的应用
Previous studies used shape memory polymers due to their intrinsic flexibility and ease of fabrication, which led to applications in soft implants, tunable wave control, and deployable components. In April last year, engineers from罗格斯大学新不伦瑞克省，新泽西州使用3D打印来使用形状记忆聚合物生产柔性，轻巧的材料。
However, according to the Watson team, shape memory polymers exhibit limitations such as slow response speed, low thermal conductivity and less energy absorption due to a lack of stiffness compared to Field’s metal. Advances in 3D printing meanwhile, have allowed for the production of lattices with more complicated geometries, hierarchical structures, and gradient design. The Binghamton scientists combined these technologies to create their unique liquid metal material.
科学家通过用不同的规格弹性体壳涂覆材料，生产了四种原型产品，包括引人注目的终结器样手。其他原型包括蜂窝，足球，天线的“蜘蛛网”和字母Bume（宾厄姆顿大学机械工程）。
利用添加剂制造制造晶雷电竞充值格
The production process begins with the 3D printing of a shell skeleton out of rubber and metal using a commercial Digital Light Projector (DLP) printer. The skeleton is then filled with hot liquid metal lattice which is produced using Field’s alloy, a metal used as a liquid coolant in nuclear engineering due to its low melting point of 62oC. As the lattice is allowed to cool, it becomes more malleable, allowing it to be fitted into any shape or design. When the metal is heated to melting point, it takes a liquid form, and is ready to be reused and reshaped.
在测试过程中，将晶格手重新调整为两个临时形状，重新融化后几乎100％的液态金属被回收，导致宾厄姆顿科学家预计它可以用人的手来采取任何手势的形式。测试未发现的制造精度和铸造/涂料缺陷，但是科学家认为，将来可以通过利用现有过程（例如基于激光的添加剂制造业）来解决这些不一致之处。雷电竞充值
原型显示出增强的特征，例如可回收的能量吸收，可调形状和刚性以及可重新配置的行为。使用场的金属还使零件比聚合物更高，因此可以消散更多的能量。与其他形状的记忆合金相比，液态金属晶格材料由于难以柔软的集成设计而显示出更大的可逆应变范围。
These attributes give liquid metal lattice materials the potential to be used as recoverable protection or cushion layers in engineering and aerospace applications. “A spacecraft may crash if it lands on the moon or Mars with some kind of impact. Normally, engineers use aluminum or steel to produce the cushion structures, but after you land on the moon, the metal absorbs the energy and deforms. It’s over, you can use it only once”, said assistant professor Pu Zhang who co-authored the paper. “Using this Field’s alloy, you can crash into it like other metals, but then heat it up later to recover its shape. You can use it over and over again,” added the professor.
沃森（Watson）团队已经在这项金属晶格研究中构建，包括不同的结构类型和改进的涂料材料，目的是生产完整的液态晶格机器人。
Electronics applications of liquid metal 3D printing
Liquid metals are already used in a range of applications within the 3D printing industry, most commonly in 3D printed electronics. In April 2018, researchers atOregon State University（OSU）发现，将液态金属合金Galinstan与镍结合在一起，创建了一种糊状物，可以将3D印刷成Stretchy，导电组件.
Researchers from Beijing announced in Match 2017 that they had used 3D printing and injected liquid metal as a novel way tocreate functional electrical components, and published a paper on using the process to enable the creation of PCB boards.
2013年3月，研究人员北卡罗来纳州立大学开发了一种新方法印刷导电金属at room temperature. They identified potential applications of the technology ranging from soft, stretchable, and shape reconfigurable analogs to wires, electrical interconnects, electrodes and antennas.
The Watson School of Engineering researchers’ findings are detailed in their paper titled “具有可回收和可重构行为的多功能液态金属晶格材料”发表在科学直接journal, and was co-authored by Fanghang Deng, Quang-Kha Nguyen, and Pu Zhang.
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Featured image shows the liquid metal lattice hand produced by scientists from Binghamton University. Photo via Zhang/ Binghamton University.
