4D PRINTING
Printing from another dimension? Not quite…but just as interesting. 4D Printing is a 3D printed object that transforms itself into another structure through the introduction of external energy such as temperature, light, or other similar environment variables. The main goals of this technology are to reimagine the way we think about construction, manufacturing, assembly, and performance. Once you start to imagine the possibilities you can allow your mind to run wild with the possibilities of what can be done.
Let's start with the simplest, which is the general idea that makes it 4D printing. Say you have an object in the shape of a flower that you have printed and you want that object to react as a real flower would bloom. In this case, the object could react to heat so if lest out in the sun it could open as it heats and retract as the sun goes away as the heat fades.
Quite an interesting idea, but besides being a showpiece at a convention what could this have any application for? Well let us think, take a house with limited space, if you had certain furniture the was built this way you could save a ton on space with said furniture that could stay flat to the floor but when brought to the prober temperature could assemble itself and be used. A much more unfathomable goal for the future would be in the medical field as one example would be an implant. The possibilities could be endless to help a patient that could react depending on the patient's body temperature. Imagine if a simple implant could stop hypothermia in its tracts if someone got too cold or if that same person ran a dangerous fever could treat a patient before they even got too dangerous levels. Quite the interesting proposition if I don't say so myself.
A more attainable and useful application for today would be printing 4D piping systems. If you could create plumbing systems and pipeworks for cities with this technology you could in theory have pipes that dynamically change their size in response to the flow rate and water demand or pipes that could possibly heal themselves if they crack and break all due to to the energy created by their environments change. As someone who in the past had worked in the construction field changing pipes throughout the city, this is massive news. One small crack in even just a drainage pipe could cause massive problems over time. As the water slowly trickles out it erodes the dirt and soil and creates cavities in the ground causing even bigger problems, but with a pipe system that could heal itself and eliminate those small leaks, you could be looking at almost 99% of all minor problems fixing themselves from even needing to be dealt with.
In all, there are so many different possibilities of different applications with the technology, some are becoming a possibility before our eyes but some are a long way off. All we can hope is more and more breakthroughs are mand in the field because absolutely great things can come from 4D printing.
