To Infinity And...In Theory: 4D Technology: The Printer of God

(Fig. 1) Display of current gen. 4D technology. The self-folding cube.

Self-Assembly: Future? Or the End?

The backbreaking labor this country was built on seems to be a thing of the past. Now our stuff is built on the sweat of sweatshop labor in third world countries where policies aren’t regulated very well. 4D technology could be the end of that. By eliminating the need for labor to go into manufacturing by using self-assembly it gets rid of the sweatshop labor factor in one fell swoop. But could that mean the death of manufacturing altogether?

It’s a possibility, but let’s face it, we’ve been heading that way for a long time now. From automated teller machines (ATM’s) to Amazon.com we have been eradicating the human element from the equation for decades. While this technology has the potential to cause worldwide reform by allowing us to become self-reliant on our own manufacturing again forcing third world nations toward workforce reform and safety, it also has the potential to make us, humans, completely obsolete.

We understand the concept of a printer. By taking specific instructions from a source it renders an image on paper or other surface by dispersing ink. A 3D printer takes that whole concept a step further by not stopping at printing the picture on paper, but rendering a usable 3-Dimensional model created on a computer. More advanced 3D printers are able to create extremely durable structures by incorporating different elements into the process and forming the bonds, (for instance, creating the parts for a functioning handgun, or a steel beam). That’s pretty intense.

4D printing intends to take all that technology and go one step further. It’s far more than just adding an extra D into the title. (It’s not like 3G to 4G guys, promise…)

Kinematics, The Motion of the Ocean (Ish…)

(Fig. 2) How to use the kinematic equations

Okay, so Kinematics isn’t the study of the motion of the ocean, but it is the study of motion. In fact it’s commonly referred to as the geometry of motion. It’s possible, in physics, to calculate many seemingly impossible things, as long as all the given factors are in place. But sometimes things change and don’t go according to plan. In math and physics these changes are known as variables.

There are a variety of quantities associated with the motion of objects - displacement (and distance), velocity (and speed), acceleration, and time. Knowledge of each of these quantities provides descriptive information about an object's motion. For example, if a car is known to move with a constant velocity of 22.0 m/s, North for 12.0 seconds for a northward displacement of 264 meters, then the motion of the car is fully described. And if a second car is known to accelerate from a rest position with an eastward acceleration of 3.0 m/s² for a time of 8.0 seconds, providing a final velocity of 24 m/s, East and an eastward displacement of 96 meters, then the motion of this car is fully described.

I know what you’re saying, “my head hurts.” Unless you’re a physicist that probably doesn’t make any sense to you whatsoever. So now you’re probably saying, “why are you telling me all this then?” As usual, I’m building to my point.

The program that the 4D printer is based upon called “Project Cyborg” is based on this study of motion. Kinematics. By being able to predict how a certain object is going to behave once it is completed is essential in creating self-assembling objects. If you can’t predict the patterns in which they are going to assemble themselves in, the final result is a tangled unusable mass, which is exactly the initial problem designers were running into.

Some Assemb- …I Mean, Water Required

So basically the building blocks that makes up the 4D printed objects act like proteins. Proteins are able to take on many different properties and perform many different tasks. While these shape-changing particles aren’t literal proteins, they’re pretty darn close. By immersing the polymerized printed materials in water it reacts. You can watch a video of the self-assembly process here. It’s some pretty neat stuff.

From Sundresses To Space Stations

The applications for this kind of technology are absolutely endless. On YouTube a video displaying the design and malleability of this tech is shown in the form of creating a woman’s dress. In the program, the molecules are set to be programmed to flow and drape just as the fabrics of a real woman’s dress would! They also use it to make jewelry already that you can even design yourself online.

But certainly there are more things we can do with this than women’s fashion. Here’s a short list I’ve compiled for you from various sources about intended uses for 4D printers:

· Piping (oil rigs, ditches, etc.)

· Large structures that can fold like Origami for easy transport

· Quick housing development

· Building research areas in hazardous environments (Marianas Trench, Volcanoes, etc.)

· A self-assembling space station

(Fig. 3) Dress being designed using Project Cyborg (caDNAno program)

At present the technology is nowhere near being able to construct something as complex as a space station that can self-assemble right now, but as I always say, it’s going in the right direction. The closest on that list though is piping.

Imagine this. In the Gulf of Mexico, when BP had the spill if we’d have had this technology the pipes would have self-repaired, expanded or contracted, or even diverted themselves based on the initial programming for their function. In the future tragedies like that can be avoided with this technology. On the downside an assassin could potentially turn a scrunchie into a pistol by slapping it against a table in the future, causing the molecules to reassemble into a new form, but I’m willing to take that risk.

No Glasses Necessary

(Fig. 4) Vintage picture of movie night at a 3D during the initial introduction of “3D glasses”

So we mentioned sending a 4D printer into space to build a space station right? That sounds like a pretty incredible task, and you would be right to think so. It all has to start somewhere though, and NASA is planning to take steps in 2014 to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

By hiring Silicon Valley company Made In Space, NASA is trying to design a 3D printer that will survive the flight from Earth to the space station. There is a problem in space currently. There’s no Home Depot nearby. So if a tool or a part breaks, progress can be shut down for quite some time while NASA preps a ship to bring a replacement. If they had a 3D printer up there with them, anyone with a CAD background could create a new screwdriver.

The current issue is that, no matter if the printer is a $300 consumer based model or a $500,000 industrial site constructor it was still built to function here on Earth. Low atmosphere, different pressure, power consumption, many factors have to be considered when making an electronic device to function in outer space.

If they can do this then the future of printing in space may even go so far as creating a base on the moon with the 4D technology. One thing is for sure, I’ll be following this with a close eye and when I know more I’ll be reporting on it in the future again.

Thanks for reading guys and if you have any comments or questions feel free to post them below, and if you like any of the articles don’t hesitate to share them around on Facebook and Twitter. Learning is free and forever.

- Ryan Sanders