Computational additive manufacturing integrates digital design, simulation, and control with 3D and 4D printing processes to create structures with precisely programmed geometry, composition, and function. Methods span multimaterial extrusion, vat photopolymerization, volumetric and holographic printing, and bio- and food-printing, often coupled to AI-driven design tools, topology optimization, and process monitoring. A major emphasis is on architected and origami- or textile-inspired mechanical metamaterials, soft robots, and functional devices whose mechanical, optical, electromagnetic, or morphing behavior is encoded at the meso- and microstructural level.
Robotics
Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a proof-of-concept method for programming mechanical properties into solid Lego-like building blocks. By controlling the solidity of hundreds of individual cells in ...
Feb 3, 2026
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47
Engineering
Metamaterials are composites with a very precisely controlled structure. It is this structure that determines the properties of the metamaterial, not the substances it is made of. Typically, a metamaterial consists of repeating ...
Feb 3, 2026
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13
Engineering
If you break open a chicken bone, you won't find a solid mass of white material inside. Instead, you will see a complex, spongelike network of tiny struts and pillars, and a lot of empty space.
Feb 3, 2026
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7
Engineering
Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at Penn State, led by Hongtao ...
Feb 3, 2026
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27
Engineering
Seating furniture is frequently not designed for long-term use or simple assembly and disassembly and has a tendency to break after just one move. This does not apply to the benches, chairs, and stools that were created as ...
Feb 2, 2026
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11
Hi Tech & Innovation
Additive manufacturing has revolutionized manufacturing by enabling customized, cost-effective products with minimal waste. However, with the majority of 3D printers operating on open-loop systems, they are notoriously prone ...
Feb 2, 2026
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117
Engineering
Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing objects with very different properties, including levels of hardness and transparency, on a pixel-by-pixel basis while using commonly available materials and inexpensive ...
Jan 29, 2026
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30
Engineering
Since it was invented in the 1980s, 3D printing has moved from the laboratory to the factory, the home and even outer space.
Jan 29, 2026
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63
Engineering
National Taiwan University researchers have developed an ultrahigh-solid-loading (83 vol%) yet highly flowable suspension for 3D printing that produces ceramic parts with extremely low shrinkage and 100% density, overcoming ...
Jan 28, 2026
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17
Engineering
Concrete structures like roads and bridges require nondestructive testing methods to identify interior defects without destroying their structure. Most methods send sound waves into the material and capture the waves that ...
Jan 27, 2026
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