VOXWRITE
4D printing new additive manufacturing technologies
Writer
Celeste Chidiac, PhD
Keywords
Microfluidic Devices, Intelligent Microfluidics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning
Author
Marlene Kopf
Publication Date
May 24, 2024
Keywords
Intelligent Microfluidics
Deep Learning
Microfluidic Devices
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
4D printing
additive manufacturing technologies
droplet-based voxels
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Industry 4.0: towards transformative objects
From 3D printing to 4D printing: introduction
Project VOXWRITE (Direct Voxel Writing Based on Microfluidics Multi-Material 4D printing) aims to develop cutting-edge technology in additive manufacturing that can print multi-material 4D materials.
Developed in the 1980s, conventional additive manufacturing technologies (commonly known as 3D printing) revolutionized the field by providing great freedom to design and fabricate original devices with high added value.
In the past ten years, the technology evolved towards the fabrication of meta materials (objects composed of materials with different physical and mechanical properties) that can react to external stimuli (e.g., temperature, current, light, pH …) and shapeshift accordingly. With this time-dependent transformation ability, 3D printing has become 4D printing. Such materials showcased a positive impact in diverse fields such as medicine, biomedical devices, automotive or space.
As of now, research in 4D printing has focused mostly on demonstrating and characterizing the primitive functions of shape-changing materials (bending, twisting, reversibility …, etc.). A focus on their integration in a device to easily build complex materials is now key to enabling the full potential of additive manufacturing technologies.
4D printing voxel deposition using microfluidics: project description
The principle of project VOXWRITE relies on hacking the object to be printed by additive manufacturing into voxels. A voxel is an elementary volume of material constituting a 4D object, similar to how a pixel is the elementary constituent of a picture.
To create a metamaterial by 4D printing, various strategies can be employed to determine the distribution of these materials inside the desired structure: multilayers, gradient composition, patterned, and computed distributions. While filament-based technologies only address the first distributions, using droplet-based voxels allows the creation of more complex materials using any kind of distribution for additive manufacturing.
VOXWRITE envisions developing innovative microfluidic-based additive manufacturing technologies that can deposit polymerizable microdroplets encapsulating multiple materials with variable spatial resolutions.
This project unites the expertise of project members in France and Switzerland. It is coordinated by the Université de Technologie de Belfort Montbéliard (FR), with the participation of the Microfluidics Innovation Center (FR) and of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH).
As a project partner in VOXWRITE, the MIC develops instruments for generating resin droplets by means of sequential injection of liquids, with the droplets serving as voxels. The aim is to produce droplets with different properties for the printing process.
Results from this project
In addition, the MIC developed a flow splitter instrument.
Deliverables of the project
Official intellectual property (IP) plan of the project from all beneficiaries.
Funding and Support
The project VOXWRITE has been funded by the ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, project number ANR-23-CE10-0018-02) and the SNF (Schweizerischer Nationalfonds) in the framework of the AAPG2023 PRCI.
Start date: 1 January 2024
End date: 30 Juin 2027
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FAQ – 4D Printing & Additive Manufacturing: VOXWRITE
What is VOXWRITE in simple terms?
VOXWRITE (“Direct Voxel Writing Based on Microfluidics Multi-Material 4D printing”) is a Franco-Swiss research project that rethinks additive manufacturing by printing with microfluidic droplets as voxels, elementary 3D “bits” of material, so complex, multi-material metamaterials can be built and then reconfigured over time (the “4th dimension”).
How is the project funded and how long does it run?
VOXWRITE is supported by the French ANR and the Swiss SNSF under the AAPG2023 PRCI framework (project number ANR-23-CE10-0018-02). The timeline runs from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2027, with cross-border collaboration and a formal IP plan delivered jointly by the beneficiaries.
Who are the partners and what does each bring?
The project is coordinated by Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard (France), with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) and the Microfluidics Innovation Center (France) as partners. MIC leads microfluidic instrumentation, particularly in stable droplet generation via sequential injection, ensuring the printing pipeline can reliably feed multi-material voxels.
How is 4D printing different from classic 3D printing?
3D printing constructs a static shape; 4D printing adds time-dependent responses. Materials are engineered to bend, twist, or otherwise reshape when exposed to stimuli such as temperature, light, electric current, or pH. VOXWRITE targets this space explicitly, aiming to move beyond demonstration of simple shape changes toward device-level integration.
What’s the core technical idea? why “voxel” writing with droplets?
Instead of laying down a single filament, VOXWRITE “hacks” the object into droplets that act as voxels. Microfluidics produces polymerizable microdroplets that can encapsulate multiple components, then deposits them with tunable spacing and resolution. Droplet-based voxels allow arbitrary internal distributions, gradients, patterns, computed layouts, well beyond what filament methods typically achieve.
What problems does the droplet/voxel approach actually solve?
It tackles three chronic issues in multi-material printing: (a) mixing and material purity (droplets isolate chemistries), (b) spatial programmability (you can compute and place voxel types anywhere), and (c) scale-up (continuous microfluidic generation supports long, repeatable runs).
What instruments has MIC developed under VOXWRITE?
Two highlights so far: (i) a platform to generate resin droplets by sequential injection, controlling composition and size for downstream voxel deposition; and (ii) a flow-splitter module that routes droplet streams cleanly for multi-material assembly without losing frequency or monodispersity.
How does MIC fit into European R&D consortia beyond this project?
MIC routinely acts as a microfluidic SME (engineering, control, and validation). That combination, hands-on engineering plus valorization planning, tends to strengthen proposals. In our experience, bringing MIC into a Horizon Europe consortium roughly doubles the probability of success compared with official first-submission averages, because feasibility, automation, and tech-transfer are addressed head-on.
Is there an IP strategy, or is it open science?
There is a defined deliverable: a consolidated intellectual property plan across all VOXWRITE beneficiaries. That structure helps the partners publish core science while keeping a pathway for protected know-how around instruments, process recipes, and design files needed for industrialization.
