Development and Application of 5D-printer

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K18830
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Mechanics of materials, Production engineering, Design engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: TSUMORI Fujio 九州大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (10343237)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: ３Ｄプリンタ / ４Ｄプリンタ / ５Ｄプリンタ / 磁性粒子 / ソフトアクチュエータ / 生体模倣

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this work, 5D-printing system was proposed and developed. The design parameter of 5D-printing system consist of 5 parameters; 3-dimensional shape (x, y, z) and orientation (theta, phi), so that we could call the process "5D".
Two types of 5D-printing systems were developed in during 2 years. One was the system with UV-laser source and scanning mirror, and the other was the system with dispensers. Using these systems, flexible polymer structures were output.
One application of the system is bio-mimetic one, that is artificial cilia. Metachronal wave, which is observed in natural cilia organ, was realized by the developed 5D-printing system.

Free Research Field

ものづくり，ＭＥＭＳ

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ソフトアクチュエータを出力できる新たなプリンタを開発した．このプリンタを用いることで，自然界の繊毛に見られる効率的な送液挙動を世界で初めて実現することができた．このように，本システムは新たな生物の学理を理解するための有効なツールとなるとともに，今後のソフトロボティクスの発展にもつながり，新たなファブリケーション手法としての地位を確立する基礎となる成果であると考えている．