3D printing method creates soft actuators with switchable heat-driven motion

Executive Briefing & Key Highlights

Soft materials that change shape in response to heat are attracting growing interest in applications ranging from soft robotics to wearable technologies and biomedical devices. However, conventional extrusion-based 3D printing limits how these materials move because molecules inside each printed filament align in only one direction, restricting every filament to a single actuation mode.