3D printing of smart materials: A review on recent progresses in 4D printing
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as three-dimensional (3D) printing or rapid prototyping, has been introduced since the late 1980s. Although a considerable amount of progress has been made in this field, there is still a lot of research work to be done in order to overcome the various challenges remained. Recently, one of the actively researched areas lies in the additive manufacturing of smart materials and structures. Smart materials are those materials that have the ability to change their shape or properties under the influence of external stimuli. With the introduction of smart materials, the AM-fabricated components are able to alter their shape or properties over time (the 4th dimension) as a response to the applied external stimuli. Hence, this gives rise to a new term called ‘4D printing’ to include the structural reconfiguration over time. In this paper, recent major progresses in 4D printing are reviewed, including 3D printing of enhanced smart nanocomposites, shape memory alloys, shape memory polymers, actuators for soft robotics, self-evolving structures, anti-counterfeiting system, active origami and controlled sequential folding, and some results from our ongoing research. In addition, some research activities on 4D bio-printing are included, followed by discussions on the challenges, applications, research directions and future trends of 4D printing.
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Stimuli-responsive material is one of the most important ingredients of 4D printing.
“One of the most important ingredients of 4D printing is the stimuli-responsive material [191,192].”
From Two-Way and Multiple-Way Shape Memory Polymers for Soft Robotics: An Overview (2020) · cites this paper as [191]
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- Authors
- Khoo, Z. X., Teoh, J. E. M., Liu, Y., Chua, C. K., Yang, S., An, J., Leong, K. F., & Yeong, W. Y.
- Affiliations
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Liu, Yong
- Venue
- Virtual and Physical Prototyping
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-07-03
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 103-122
- ISSN
- 1745-2759 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-2767
- OpenAlex
- W1826414460
- Cited by
- 912
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 83 · 2024: 76 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 106 · 2021: 112 · 2020: 108 · 2019: 101 · 2018: 84 · 2017: 68 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 64.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Virtual and Physical Prototyping (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Nanyang Technological University (Tier 1 Project)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Soft Robotics and Applications
- Keywords
- 4D printing, smart materials, additive manufacturing, shape memory polymers, shape memory alloys, anti-counterfeiting, stimuli-responsive materials
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