3-D printing: Smart materials paving the way to the 4th dimension

The combination of #intelligent #materials and #3D#printing is enabling #researchers to consider completely new options in a diverse range of#industries. 3-D printing is already being used in#laboratories to #manufacture #self_repairing#materials and objects which can change their shape in response to specific #environmentalfactors. And new #smart #printing processes are even making it possible to replace the previous manual methods of #producing #components made from traditional #composite materials like #carbon#fiber-reinforced #plastics.