Imagine… you buy a shelf and receive it in a small box. While you enjoy your coffee, your shelf is building itself up in front of your eyes.
Researchers from Self-Assembly Lab of the MIT are currently developing a 4D printer. The idea here is to unable the printing of materials that get constructed on their own.
The goal is to transfer to a large scale the existing solution in nanotechnology and biological systems. In other words, implement the concept of molecular self-assembly in a manufacturing level.
The new technology can change the way the industry work, as well as other fields too. One of the consequences of such a plan would be the discontinuation of the use of the BOM assembly structure. So ladies and gentlemen, the instruction manuals are now from the past !
For this concept to work, we need to combine the right materials with the right geometry. To put a means to an end, the team of Self-Assembly Lab uses the new software called from Autodesk called Project Cyborg. It allows its user to simulate how and when various elements get assembled.
Here is Skylar Tibbits’ video from the Self-Assembly Lab on the 4D printer.
