The morphing nozzle in action, 3D printing fibre-filled composite materials with on-demand control of fibre alignment

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(Credit: University of Maryland) A new shape-changing 3D printer nozzle could enable complex new creations with unique material properties, its creators have said. Engineers at the University of Maryland (UMD) created the ‘morphing’ nozzle, which offers new ways of printing fibre-filled composites. The materials are made of short fibres that boost properties over conventional printed parts, such as enhanced strength or electrical conductivity. The challenge, the researchers said, is that these properties are based on the orientations of the short fibres – something that was previously difficult to control during the printing process. “When 3D printing with the morphing nozzle, the power lies in their side actuators, which can be inflated like a balloon to change the shape of the nozzle, and in turn, the orientations of the fibres,” said UMD mechanical engineer Ryan Sochol. To demonstrate their new approach, the researchers focused on ‘4D printing’ applications – creating 3D printed objects that can reshape or transform depending on their environment. “In our work, we looked at how printed parts swelled when submerged in water, and specifically, if we could alter that swelling […]

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