SFA-AM - Strategic Focus Area Advanced Manufacturing
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    • Workshop 13 July 2020
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SD4D

Sustainable Design of 4D Printed Active Systems
The aim of this project is to digitally design and 3D print lightweight, reconfigurable and active structures and robots that use less material, require no assembly, use fewer different materials to ease recyclability, adapt to the environment and task thus prolonging lifespan and exhibit increased durability so as to make them industrially relevant.
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Using Additive Manufacturing (AM), we are currently able to design the geometry of parts to achieve customized performance, e.g. lightweight and personal customization. Through new multi-material AM processes we are also able to locally tune the material composition and "program" the material to create parts that have thus far unexploited functionalities, e.g. reconfiguration and actuation. This is the next generation of 3D printing and has been termed “4D printing”, i.e. 3D printed structures that change their shape after printing in response to the environment, as described in this scientific article.  

Scope of Research Activities
  • Material characterization and design of multi-material joints and hinges
  • Design of sustainable, lightweight, multi-material structures and parts
  • 3D printed and “drop in” actuation systems for distributed, active surfaces and structures
  • Computational design and optimization methods for 4D printing

Key Technical Problems to Solve
  • Fatigue failure of active parts, e.g. hinges or joints
  • Lack of integrated computational design, simulation and optimization methods

Demonstrators
  • Automotive and Aerospace Panels: 4D printed panels with integrated multi-functionality and re-configurability achieved through both 3D printed actuators and “drop-in” actuators.
  • Origami, reconfigurable robots: 3D printed robots, focusing on a context-sensitive gripper, that integrate several actuator types and modes of actuation for pick-and-place tasks.

Leading Principal Investigator
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Prof. Dr. Kristina Shea
Engineering Design and Computing Laboratory, ETH Zürich 

Project Consortium
  • Prof. Dr. Ralph Spolenak, Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, ETH Zürich
  • Prof. Dr. Paolo Ermanni, Laboratory for Composite Materials and Adaptive Structures, ETH Zürich
  • Prof. Dr. Jamie Paik, Reconfigurable Robotics Lab, EPF Lausanne
An initiative of the ETH Board
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Participating Institutions of the ETH Domain
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Disclaimer
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© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Focus Areas
    • Focus Areas 2017-2020 >
      • Precision Free-Form Manufacturing
      • Printed Electronics
      • Sustainable Digital Manufacturing and Design
      • Sensing Technologies
      • Intelligent Systems and Advanced Automation
    • Focus Areas 2021-2024 >
      • Manufacturing Technologies
      • Functionality Integration
      • Sensing Technologies
      • Intelligent Systems and Advanced Automation
  • Calls & Selection
    • Initial Program
    • Expansion Program
    • Period 2021-2024
  • Projects
    • Projects Initial Program >
      • Ceramic X.0
      • FUORCLAM
      • Powder Focusing
      • PREAMPA
      • FOXIP
      • CFRP-AM
      • SD4D
    • Projects Expansion Program >
      • D-SENSE
      • MOCONT
      • Nano Assembly
      • X-Ray Diagnostics
  • Events
    • Annual Review Meeting 2020
    • Workshop 13 July 2020
    • Annual Review Meeting 2019
    • Annual Review Meeting 2018
    • Launch Event 13 Nov 2017
    • Workshop 6 July 2017
    • Workshop 17 Oct 2016
  • About
    • Steering Committee
    • Participating ETH Institutions
  • Contact