3D printed hierarchical materials by Prof Andre Studart (ETH Zürich)

Biological materials exhibit heterogeneous architectures that are tuned to fulfill the functional demands and mechanical loading conditions of their specific environment. Examples range from the cellulose-based organic structure of plants to collagen-based skeletal parts like bone, teeth and cartilage. Because they are often utilized to combine opposing properties such as strength and low-density or stiffness and wear resistance, the heterogeneous architecture of natural materials can potentially address several of the technical limitations of artificial implants or composites in general. However, current man-made manufacturing technologies do not allow for the level of composition and fiber orientation control found in natural heterogeneous systems. In this talk, I will show that 3D printing routes using self-assembly inks offer an exciting pathway for the fabrication of biologically-inspired materials with unprecedented heterogeneous architectures and functional properties.

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