New 3D printed material heals itself after being cut in half
This is one of the first combinations of 3D Printing and Self-Healing materials, and it's how many materials could be made in the future.
Key takeaways
- The researchers behind the breakthrough say the new materials could be potential game changers in the electronics, fashion, soft robotics, and tyre industries.
- Assistant Professor Qiming Wang and students from the University of Southern California began by using a manufacturing method where light is used to solidify liquid resin, called Photopolymerization.
- After about 2 hours at 60° C (140° F) most of the objects had healed themselves completely.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2019) 'New 3D printed material heals itself after being cut in half', 311 Institute, 7 June. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/new-3d-printed-material-heals-itself-after-being-cut-in-half/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Recently teams of researchers showed off their self-healing computer chips, self-healing soft robots, and other common a garden objects that can self-heal after suffering "catastrophic damage". Now though another team of researchers in the US have announced that they’ve developed a range of self-healing 3D printed materials that can repair themselves after being cut in half. The researchers behind the breakthrough say the new materials could be potential game changers in the electronics, fashion, soft robotics, and tyre industries.
Assistant Professor Qiming Wang and students from the University of Southern California began by using a manufacturing method where light is used to solidify liquid resin, called Photopolymerization.
In order to get the printed objects to self-repair, the team had to find an optimum mix when oxidizing the chemical group that makes this kind of 3D printing possible, so that original strength and function was maintained after self-healing.
"When we gradually increase the oxidant, the self-healing behavior becomes stronger, but the photopolymerization behavior becomes weaker," said Wang. "There is competition between these two behaviours. And eventually we found the ratio that can enable both high self-healing and relatively rapid photopolymerization."
Or how about a self-healing shoe? Courtesy: USC
The team tested its method by printing a range of objects – including a shoe pad, a soft robot, a multiphase composite and an electronic sensor – and then cutting them in half. After about 2 hours at 60° C (140° F) most of the objects had healed themselves completely. It did take a while longer for the sensor though, around twice as long in fact, due to the presence of carbon that's used to transmit electricity.
The researchers say that the repair time could be reduced by raising the temperature.
"We actually show that under different temperatures – from 40 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius – the material can heal to almost 100 percent," commented Kunhao Yu, first-author of the study. "By changing the temperature, we can manipulate the healing speed, even under room temperature the material can still self-heal."
The team is now looking into the development of a range of materials that can self-heal, which could go on to produce self-healing automotive components or body armor.
A paper detailing the research has been published in the journal Nature.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
This is one of the first combinations of 3D Printing and Self-Healing materials, and it's how many materials could be made in the future.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- light is used to solidify liquid resin newatlas.com
- S41427 019 0109 y nature.com
- University of Southern California viterbischool.usc.edu
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 7 June 2019. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2019). New 3D printed material heals itself after being cut in half. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/new-3d-printed-material-heals-itself-after-being-cut-in-half/
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