A 3D printer that deposits multiple materials at once—plastics, metals, pharmaceuticals, electronics—could build a single object with internal circuits, drug reservoirs, and structural supports, all in one go. Today’s additive manufacturing (3D printing) mostly handles one material at a time. That limits what can be made: a smart medical implant might need both a rigid shell and flexible sensors, but current printers cannot combine them seamlessly. The core challenge is that materials with different chemical and physical properties do not easily stick together during printing. This project tackles that interface problem head-on, developing new models and methods for controlled co-deposition of dissimilar materials in three dimensions. If successful, the work could transform how electronic devices and pharmaceutical products are manufactured. A single machine might produce customised drug-delivery patches with embedded microelectronics, or patient-specific implants that combine structural and electronic functions. The team includes eight multinational industry partners, so translation into real products is a stated goal. For now, the research is primarily fundamental—establishing the science of multi-material interfaces during printing—but the potential applications in healthcare, consumer electronics, and advanced manufacturing are direct and tangible.
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Twenty-first century products demand a new toolset of manufacturing techniques and materials; next generation multifunctional Additive Manufacturing (AM) is one such key tool. As an enabler for new smart, cost-effective, functional 3D heterogeneous devices, products and advanced materials, it will be an essential instrument for future industrial applications and advanced research across a wide spectrum of disciplines and sectors. To accelerate next-generation AM, we have established a multi-institution, multidisciplinary team which spans both basic/applied sciences and engineering and involves collaborations with two leading international research groups and eight multinational industry partners. Our vision is to establish controlled next generation multifunctional AM and translate this to industry and researchers. Initially focussing on novel electronic and pharmaceutical/healthcare applications, we aim to move beyond single material AM by exploiting the potential to deposit multiple materials contemporaneously for the delivery of spatially resolved function and structure in three dimensions (3D). Owing to potentially radical differences in physical state, chemistry and compatibility, our primary challenge is at the interface of the deposited materials. This programme will focus on overcoming the challenges of spatially controlled co-deposition of dissimilar materials in 3D and we will establish new understanding and methods of both modelling and controlling co-deposition. Exploitation of our findings will be undertaken through higher TRL schemes with our network of research and industrial partners and the wider innovation ecosystem through existing and future projects.
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