DEROTAG

Soft Materials With Controllable Surface Textures Created Using 3D Printer Researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have come up with a novel method of making soft composite materials with reconfigurable surface textures that can be impeccably smooth, ridged or bumpy on demand. The surface created by using a 3-D printer can alter its texture dynamically depending on the amount of pressure applied to it. The material is made up of two distinct polymers that have very different degrees of stiffness. Furthermore, the relatively hard or rigid particles were inserted in a predetermined alignment below the surface of soft elastomeric matrix of mutable material.  Upon the application of an external stimuli, the material�s surface which is initially smooth and flat changes to a particular pattern. The pattern is steered by the arrangement and shapes of the hard particles. Later, when the pressure is released, the composite material regains its original form. Thereby, the ...