Metallic 4D Printing of Laser Stimulation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Metallic 4D printing, crucial for aerospace and biomedical fields, is limited by the scarcity of suitable forming materials beyond shape memory alloys.
• Existing methods face challenges in achieving complex shape-morphing functionalities in metallic components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a new 4D printing methodology that imparts active shape-morphing properties to non-shape-memory metallic materials.
• To overcome the material limitations in current metallic 4D printing and expand its technological applications.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 4D printing approach using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) to control thermal stress spatially in 316L stainless steel.
• Programmed processing parameters during LPBF to pre-set thermal stress within the forming parts.
• Demonstrated shape-changing capabilities in printed metallic components through controlled stress release.

Main Results:

• Successfully endowed 316L stainless steel parts with shape-morphing abilities without relying on shape memory alloys.
• Achieved controlled shape changes in selected areas of the printed parts during and after the forming process.
• Manufactured complex metallic shape-morphing structures using the proposed method.

Conclusions:

• The presented 4D printing method effectively enables shape-morphing in non-shape-memory metallic materials, broadening material choices.
• The principles of programmed printing parameters and thermal stress pre-setting are adaptable to other materials and additive manufacturing processes.
• This innovation significantly expands the scope of materials and applications for 4D printing technologies.