4D Printed Soft Magnetic Memory Materials

Abstract

Magnetic shape memory materials are special types of materials that can change their shape in the presence of a magnetic field, this happens because of how the incorporated magnetic micro or nano particles arrange themselves. Magnetic shape memory materials have many exciting applications, especially in the fields of robotics and devices that move or change shape. They can be used to create smart devices that can move in a controlled way, like small robots or machines used in medical procedures. These materials are also useful for sensing and responding to changes in their environment. This project has already seen development at the TU Delft in the Department of Industrial Design Engineering in the form of the 2 graduation projects of Sanne van Vilsteren and Kevin van der Lans. In this project, the development of the 4D printer setup was overhauled from the previous setup and redesigned to improve upon the various shortcomings of the previous set up. The ink was also experimented with to some extent, testing parameters such as its viscosity and reaction to external magnetic fields. In addition to this, multiple concepts were ideated, and designed through, to create a set of demonstrators in various fields such as haptics, biomimicry and simple mechanisms to show the various functionalities that can be achieved by this printer.