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Mechanically interlocked 3D multi-material micromachines.

  • Alcântara CCJ Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. ccja.alcantara@gmail.com.
  • Landers FC Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Kim S Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • De Marco C Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. demarcoc@ethz.ch.
  • Ahmed D Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Nelson BJ Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Pané S Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. vidalp@ethz.ch.
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  • 2020-11-25
Published in:
  • Nature communications. - 2020
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
General Physics and Astronomy
General Chemistry
English Metals and polymers are dissimilar materials in terms of their physicochemical properties, but complementary in terms of functionality. As a result, metal-organic structures can introduce a wealth of novel applications in small-scale robotics. However, current fabrication techniques are unable to process three-dimensional metallic and polymeric components. Here, we show that hybrid microstructures can be interlocked by combining 3D lithography, mold casting, and electrodeposition. Our method can be used to achieve complex multi-material microdevices with unprecedented resolution and topological complexity. We show that metallic components can be combined with structures made of different classes of polymers. Properties of both metals and polymers can be exploited in parallel, resulting in structures with high magnetic responsiveness, elevated drug loading capacity, on-demand shape transformation, and elastic behavior. We showcase the advantages of our approach by demonstrating new microrobotic locomotion modes and controlled agglomeration of swarms.
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  • English
Open access status
gold
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/288847
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