![]() ![]() The shaping is controlled by the different fibre orientations.” After curing and cooling to room temperature, the anisotropy in the different layers creates the curvature. The layers are deposited on a flat surface. For example, layer one can have fibre orientation at 0°, while layer two may have fibre orientation at 90°. ![]() The fibre orientation varies from layer-to-layer. Each layer has a certain fibre orientation. The printer is an automated fibre placement machine. Hoa explains, “The material we use is carbon/epoxy composites…The fibre content is about 60% by weight. The layers are then compacted, cured at 180☌, and cooled to 0☌, to create a stiff object that is not brittle. The 4D composite printer unrolls the filament-resin mixture in ultra-thin layers that are perpendicular to each other. According to Hoa, the 4D technology works with different fibre and matrix materials, so long as there is some degree of anisotropy. While 3D printing requires a soft and dough-like supply material, 4D printers use long, fine filaments held in place by a resin. The fourth dimension refers to the altered configuration of the once-flat material. After being printed flat, the composite changes into a 3D-shape when exposed to stimuli. Unlike 3D printing, 4D printing changes materials from location to location – it includes a material that reacts to stimulus such as water, cold or heat. Professor Suong Hoa, at Concordia University in Canada, developed the 4D composite printing technique which has led to a feasibility study on manufacturing adaptive compliant trailing edge morphing wings. Pressures on the aviation sector, such as rising fuel costs and environmental awareness, are motivating researchers to investigate cost-effective efficiency gains, including for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. This would replace a common hinged wing flap.Ī new manufacturing method can make drone wings that bend in flight rather than relying on a wing flap 4D composite printing shapes bendable wings for dronesĤD composite printing could lead to morphing wings on drones. ![]()
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