Chapter 4

Design for 4D Printing

First published: 10 September 2022

Summary

4D printing technology requires the consideration of multiple, generally disjointed forms of expertise. At the same time, it introduces new opportunities and freedoms to develop and manufacture objects and structures capable of evolving in their usage environments. Through design, 4D printing generates technological inseparability when it comes to producing parts, through 3D printers, made active by stimuli, rather than through activities organized in different successive steps. Interdisciplinary issues in product development have been addressed in recent decades regarding the types of technologies used in products and objects. The importance of knowledge capture/reuse in design approaches for X (X being a lifecycle or a technology) is now recognized by the academic and industrial communities. The functional modeling of systems responding to a stimulus requires the mapping of technical functions, materials, signals and information. The determination of material distributions is a crucial step in designing heterogeneous 4D printing behaviors.

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