4DMesh: 4D Printing Morphing Non-Developable Mesh Surfaces
Guanyun Wang | Humphrey Yang | Zeyu Yan | Nurcan Gecer Ulu | Ye Tao | Jianzhe Gu | Levent Burak Kara | Lining Yao
Carnegie Mellon University
We present 4DMesh, a method of combining shrinking and bending thermoplastic actuators with customized geometric algorithms to 4D print and morph centimeter- to meter-sized functional non-developable surfaces. We will share two end- to-end inverse design algorithms. With our tools, users can input CAD models of target surfaces and produce respective printable files. The flat sheet printed can morph into target surfaces when triggered by heat. This system saves shipping and packaging costs, in addition to enabling customizability for the design of relatively large non-developable structures. We designed a few functional artifacts to leverage the advantage of non-developable surfaces for their unique functionalities in aesthetics, mechanical strength, geometric ergonomics and other functionalities. In addition, we demonstrated how this technique can potentially be adapted to customize molds for industrial parts (e.g., car, boat, etc.) in the future.