3D-printing platform rapidly produces complex electric machines

MIT researchers built a multimaterial, multi-modal extrusion 3D-printing platform that can deposit electrically conductive inks, hard magnetic feedstocks, polymers and other functional materials within a single, integrated build. By retrofitting a printer with four distinct extruders and adding sensors plus a novel control framework for precise tool pickup, placement and nozzle alignment, they overcame the mismatched mechanical and curing requirements of different feedstock forms. As a demonstration they fully printed a linear electric motor using five materials in about three hours, required only a single post-processing magnetization step, and achieved performance equal to or exceeding comparable conventionally manufactured devices while keeping material cost to roughly $0.50 per unit; the motor produced several times the actuation of a common hydraulic-amplifier-based linear engine.

The work shows that onsite, one-step fabrication of complex electromagnetic devices is feasible and scalable, promising faster, lower-waste production of customizable components for robotics, vehicles and medical gear and reducing reliance on centralized supply chains. Remaining development goals include integrating magnetization into the print sequence, expanding the toolset to print rotary motors and still-more-complex electronics, and further refining materials and process controls so monolithic, ready-to-use electric machines can be printed reliably.