Mimicking nature’s cellular architectures via 3D printing

Nature does amazing things with limited design materials. Grass, for example, can support its own weight, resist strong wind loads, and recover after being compressed. The plant's hardiness comes from a combination of its hollow, tubular macrostructure and porous, or cellular, microstructure. These architectural features work together to give grass its robust mechanical properties. Inspired by natural cellular structures, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) , the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University , and MIT have developed a new method to 3D print materials with independently tunable macro-and microscale porosity using a ceramic foam ink. Their approach could be used to fabricate lightweight structural materials, thermal insulation or tissue scaffolds. 'By expanding the compositional space of printable materials, we can produce lightweight structures with exceptional stiffness,' said Jennifer Lewis , Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at SEAS and senior author of the paper.