Electric motors are essential components across automated manufacturing systems, yet their production and replacement typically rely on centralized facilities and complex supply chains. Researchers at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) are developing a multimaterial 3D printing platform designed to fabricate fully functional electric motors onsite in a single manufacturing step.
The approach could reduce replacement costs, minimize operational downtime, and shift production toward faster, localized, and more flexible manufacturing models.
The work appears in the journalVirtual and Physical Prototyping. The paper is led by Jorge Cañada, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student at MIT, with contributions from fellow EECS student Zoey Bigelow. Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL), is the senior author overseeing the study.
To achieve this, the MIT team engineered a multimaterial extrusion platform capable of processing several functional materials within one system. The printer integrates four distinct extrusion tools, each designed to handle a different type or form of printable feedstock. By automatically switching between tools, the system deposits conductive, magnetic, and structural materials layer by layer to build a complete device.
Designing this platform required overcoming substantial engineering challenges. Traditional extrusion printers typically manage only one or two materials of similar format. As a result, the team had to modify a standard 3D printer to incorporate four specialized extruders, each capable of processing a distinct type of material.
Each extruder was engineered to accommodate the unique properties and limitations of its assigned feedstock. For example, the conductive material needed to solidify without excessive heat or UV exposure, which could damage surrounding dielectric components. Meanwhile, the highest-performing conductive formulations are typically inks that require pressure-based extrusion, a method fundamentally different from conventional heated-nozzle systems that melt and deposit filament or pellets.
The team integrated carefully positioned sensors and a custom control system to guide the printer’s robotic arms, ensuring each extruder is engaged and retracted consistently. This precision allows every layer to align accurately.
Printing a Functional Motor in Hours
To demonstrate the system’s capabilities, the team produced a fully operational linear electric motor in roughly three hours using five different materials. Aside from a single post-print magnetization step, no additional fabrication processes were required. The finished motor matched or exceeded the performance of comparable devices manufactured through more complex methods. Material costs were estimated at approximately 50 cents per unit.
Linear motors, which generate motion in a straight line rather than rotational movement, are commonly used in robotics, optical positioning systems, and conveyor technologies. The researchers see this prototype as a proof of concept rather than an endpoint.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
