Singapore scientists deliver products like never before: confirms revolution in military and medical field

Singapore scientists deliver products like never before: confirms revolution in military and medical field

In fact, wire shielding is still used today. They provide good protection against cuts and can be disguised in regular riot police uniforms. In addition, such fabric is sometimes used by shark divers.

But this time it’s not about that. Singapore Scientists have developed a new material made by a 3D printer that can be manufactured or transported when it is soft, for example, but hard to replace when needed. Its creators, you already know, were inspired by medieval armor. OK, and the beans are sold in vacuum packs.

Scientists have printed a special material from nylon. It is made of many hard parts, but they are woven into a very flexible fabric – just like that wire shield. Such material is very easy to carry – it can be folded and carried in large rolls. In addition, it can be easily cut, and it is not very difficult to combine several pieces into one. However, if necessary, it can be turned into a particularly hard building material.


Object created by 3D printer.  Photo of Nanyang Technological University

Object created by 3D printer. Photo of Nanyang Technological University

The sheet of material is placed in a plastic bag and discarded. This compresses the various sections and increases the number of contact points by 25 times. The shape of the sections is ideal for this – they look like they fit together. True, you may notice a similar effect in the store – vacuum packaging is harder. Scientists say that in this way the stiffness of the material increases 25 times. Experiments show that a plastic bridge made in this way can withstand 50 times its own weight. In addition, it resists impact. Who only needs such opportunities?

Such fabric can be useful for creating light exoskeletons, flight details, temporary bridges or bulletproof shields. Now print or paste hard blank sheets with two surfaces.

This means that the production of each component takes a very long time. Models, prototype makers and perhaps even manufacturers of medical prostheses can massively produce such flexible fabrics. They will cut out the desired shapes from it and vacuum them in special bags. This will result in much lighter blanks with a hidden frame structure.


Object created by 3D printer.  Photo of Nanyang Technological University

Object created by 3D printer. Photo of Nanyang Technological University

The item can be used or scanned for the next stages of production. This material can be used to make a slit in a broken leg. A temporary bridge after a natural disaster. That vacuum pack will be removed and the material for the future will be closed.

Also, those vacuum bags alone do not give this material rigidity. Scientists are already testing magnetic, electrical and thermal switches. The material itself can be printed from plastic or metal, which also changes the size of the sections.

Source: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/news/detail/’smart’-fabric-that-can-stiffen-on-demand

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