Co-authors​ :

 Kunal MASANIA (NETHERLANDS) 

We present a new approach to replicate complex microstructures such as wood using 3D printing of self-assembling thermotropic liquid crystal polymers (LCPs). The LCPs can be reliably extruded to produce lines whose widths vary from half to three times the nozzle diameter, with stiffness ranging from 5 GPa to 35 GPa. This method allows shaping of anisotropic microstructures with tuneable stiffness and failure modes within a single material. By using a distance-aware toolpath generation algorithm, we can generate print lines of varying widths and curvatures that cover the shape domain homogeneously. We successfully 3D-print infills with no curvature constraint. By increasing allowed curvature, our method offers new design possibilities for composites, such as preventing crack propagation, or spatially distributing stress. Furthermore, this method creates the opportunity to study mechanical responses of natural anisotropic materials of intricate microstructures such as wood or bone.