3D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers: Embedding Nichrome-Wires to Enhance Their Performance

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) has recently gained popularity in the 3D printing field: the possibility to 3D print polymers capable to change their shape when triggered by a certain temperature, can lead to the fabrication of programmable structures. So far, the usage of solutions such as oven and warm water have been used to activate SMP, resulting in a lack of feasibility and difficult to be employed in real-life scenarios. In the present paper the authors propose a method to embed electrical nichrome-wires inside the 3D printed SMP during the fabrication process, in order to make the activation step easier, more feasible and faster. Several motions were reached when the 3D printed SMPs were activated, resulting appealing for the fabrication of soft robots. Moreover, complex structures made up of SMP material and flexible joint were also manufactured, proving that the proposed manufacturing method can be used to fabricate grippers and walking soft robots.