Researchers at the University of Washington are combining functional polymers with 3D printing. Functional polymers react to outside influences such as heat, light or stress in a number of different ways, including changing shape or color. The changes in the material act as a passive mechanical sensor that is capable of alerting onlookers to changes in material stress. It can be challenging to integrate functional polymers into objects produced through traditional manufacturing because the heat and pressure typical for many processes would cause the functional polymer to indicate prematurely. Additive manufacturing (AM) works at much lower temperatures than other manufacturing processes, making it a likely candidate for generating functional polymer objects.
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