Here comes 4D Printing. Seriously.

It follows that with a domain name like 3Dprinter.net that we disseminate information relating to 3D printing, but we’re not going to let the name of the site stop us from keeping with the times. 3D printing came after 2D printing, so where will printing go from here? 4D printing, naturally.

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While working in the fourth dimension is often associated with manipulating time, you don’t need a flux capacitor for 4D printing. What 4D printing is about is self assembly — materials whose geometries are designed in a way to convert energy into form, and that energy doesn’t have to be specifically directed at making the form come about as with most manufacturing methodologies, like a robotic arm precisely positioning components to be followed by another specific weld job. Rather, with 4D printing, objects can assemble themselves with indirect energy and inputs, such as heat, moisture, motion, and electromagnetism. So for example, the pieces that make up a pair of headphones could be shipped to you as a few flat pieces in a normal envelope, and you just toss them in a box, give ‘em a quick Shake ‘n Bake jostle, and Alakazam you’ve got a new pair of headphones that required no Chinese child labor or expensive shipping fees.