Harvard researchers develop novel 3D printing method for soft robotics — rotational multi-material method creates muscle-like structures that can be programmed to twist, lift, or bend

3D Printing nozzle up close during print.

A set of Harvard engineers have succeeded in achieving a new milestone for both 3D printing and soft robotics. A new 3D printing technique, developed by the team, allows for the creation of fully flexible 3D printed structures that can twist and change shape on demand.

This new technique, developed by former postgraduate student Natalie Larson and graduate student Jackson Wilt at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, merged several existing methods to create a new method called rotational multi-material 3D printing. This technique prints multiple materials through a single nozzle, which is continuously rotating as it prints.