Using the 3D printing method developed by the MIT researchers, a structure such as this model airplane wing could have both light emitters and light detectors embedded in the material, so that it could continuously detect any micro-cracks as they begin to form.

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Filaments with embedded circuitry can be used to print complex shapes for biomedical and robotic devices. A new method developed by MIT researchers uses standard 3-D printers to produce functioning devices with the electronics already embedded inside.

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The devices are made of fibers containing multiple interconnected materials, which can light up, sense their surroundings, store energy, or perform other actions. The new 3-D printing method is described in the journal Nature Communication , in a paper by MIT doctoral student Gabriel Loke, professors John Joannopoulos and Yoel Fink, and four others at MIT and elsewhere. The system makes use of conventional 3-D printers […]

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