IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i24p11174-d1548150.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

3D/4D Printing in Advanced Robotics Systems—Recent Developments and Applications

Author

Listed:
  • Slawomir Blasiak

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Jerzy Bochnia

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Jakub Takosoglu

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Tomasz Kozior

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Lukasz Nowakowski

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Michal Skrzyniarz

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Izabela Krzysztofik

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Malgorzata Blasiak

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Ryszard Dindorf

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

  • Piotr Wos

    (Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland)

Abstract

3D/4D printing technologies are currently among the fastest growing cutting-edge fabrication technologies. The scale of their applications is vast and applicable to nearly all industries. Three-dimensional printing technologies are particularly popular in robotics and especially in advanced design innovative solutions for areas such as manufacturing, space technology, and medicine. The development of robotics, and, in particular, of the precision of manufactured components, such as actuators, pneumatic muscles, power transmission units, etc., means that new prototypes are still being made, and the use of 3D printers reduces the production time severalfold, allowing for the completion of necessary simulations and tests. In addition, the use of 3D printers allows for the production of thin-walled and cellular structures, which is a great advantage compared to conventional fabrication technologies. In the range of 3D printers available on the market, only a few selected technologies allow for actual use in the construction of advanced robot elements (muscles, vibration dampers, etc.). In an era of rapid growth in the precision of available 3D printers and modern materials, 3D printing may soon become a major tool in robotics. This article presents an overview of 3D printing technologies and materials in terms of their application in robotics and provides examples of the use of 3D and 4D printing in prototyping and fabricating robotic elements with particular emphasis on the current state of the art. The study considered the possibilities of using 3D/4D printing in robotics with the use of polymeric materials. Three-dimensional and 4D printing technologies can have a major impact on achieving sustainable development goals by providing appropriate strategies to minimise health risks and promote environmentally friendly production processes. The review of the literature and the research work currently being carried out in this area is very promising and it seems that 3D/4D printing in robotics is widely used and is still developing, which allows us to conclude that in the near future the number of research works in this field will increase rapidly.

Suggested Citation

  • Slawomir Blasiak & Jerzy Bochnia & Jakub Takosoglu & Tomasz Kozior & Lukasz Nowakowski & Michal Skrzyniarz & Izabela Krzysztofik & Malgorzata Blasiak & Ryszard Dindorf & Piotr Wos, 2024. "3D/4D Printing in Advanced Robotics Systems—Recent Developments and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-26, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:24:p:11174-:d:1548150
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11174/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11174/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ankur Bajpai & Anna Baigent & Sakshika Raghav & Conchúr Ó. Brádaigh & Vasileios Koutsos & Norbert Radacsi, 2020. "4D Printing: Materials, Technologies, and Future Applications in the Biomedical Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-32, December.
    2. Ginés Morales Méndez & Alicia del Cerro Pérez & Francisco del Cerro Velázquez, 2024. "Prototype Pultrusion of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Bottles into Filament for 3D Eco-Printing: Education for a Sustainable Development Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Ewa Dostatni & Filip Osiński & Dariusz Mikołajewski & Alžbeta Sapietová & Izabela Rojek, 2024. "Neural Networks for Prediction of 3D Printing Parameters for Reducing Particulate Matter Emissions and Enhancing Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Manuel Schaffner & Jakob A. Faber & Lucas Pianegonda & Patrick A. Rühs & Fergal Coulter & André R. Studart, 2018. "3D printing of robotic soft actuators with programmable bioinspired architectures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chao Zhang & Zhuang Zhang & Yun Peng & Yanlin Zhang & Siqi An & Yunjie Wang & Zirui Zhai & Yan Xu & Hanqing Jiang, 2023. "Plug & play origami modules with all-purpose deformation modes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Yunjiang Wang & Xinben Hu & Luhang Cui & Xuan Xiao & Keji Yang & Yongjian Zhu & Haoran Jin, 2024. "Bioinspired handheld time-share driven robot with expandable DoFs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Liang Yue & S. Macrae Montgomery & Xiaohao Sun & Luxia Yu & Yuyang Song & Tsuyoshi Nomura & Masato Tanaka & H. Jerry Qi, 2023. "Single-vat single-cure grayscale digital light processing 3D printing of materials with large property difference and high stretchability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Qingrui Wang & Xiaoyong Tian & Daokang Zhang & Yanli Zhou & Wanquan Yan & Dichen Li, 2023. "Programmable spatial deformation by controllable off-center freestanding 4D printing of continuous fiber reinforced liquid crystal elastomer composites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Wei Tang & Yiding Zhong & Huxiu Xu & Kecheng Qin & Xinyu Guo & Yu Hu & Pingan Zhu & Yang Qu & Dong Yan & Zhaoyang Li & Zhongdong Jiao & Xujun Fan & Huayong Yang & Jun Zou, 2023. "Self-protection soft fluidic robots with rapid large-area self-healing capabilities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Chiara Bartolozzi & Giacomo Indiveri & Elisa Donati, 2022. "Embodied neuromorphic intelligence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:24:p:11174-:d:1548150. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.