Researchers at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have developed a computational framework for designing 3D woven metamaterials that are soft, flexible, and programmable. Unlike traditional metamaterials, which rely on rigidity and lightweight structures, these woven lattices can be tuned fiber by fiber to stretch, bend, or fail in controlled ways, opening new possibilities for soft robotics, wearable devices, and flexible electronics.
Published inNature Communicationsas “Design framework for programmable three-dimensional woven metamaterials,” the project is considered as the first framework to fully integrate design, simulation, and fabrication for soft, 3D woven metamaterials, enabling fiber‑level control and programmable mechanical behavior that was previously impractical. The work utilized MIT.nano facilities and included contributions from James Utama Surjadi, Bastien F. G. Aymon, and Ling Xu.
From Rigid Lattices to Soft, Programmable Materials
Metamaterials are engineered materials whose properties are defined by their internal structure rather than their composition and have traditionally emphasized stiffness and strength. Emerging engineering challenges, however, require compliance, flexibility, and tunability. The new MIT framework enables the creation of 3D woven structures composed of intertwined fibers that self-contact and entangle, producing unique, programmable behaviors.
“Until now, these complex 3D lattices have been designed manually, painstakingly, which limits the number of designs that anyone has tested,” explained Carlos Portela, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and associate professor of mechanical engineering. “We’ve been able to describe how these woven lattices work and use that to create a design tool for arbitrary woven lattices. With that design freedom, we’re able to design the way that a lattice changes shape as it stretches, how the fibers entangle and knot with each other, as well as how it tears when stretched to the limit.”
A Universal, Open-Source Design Tool
The framework features a graph-based design algorithm that converts user specifications into precise fiber layouts. Each woven unit cell can be graded and customized using parameters such as fiber radius and pitch. Users can simulate deformation, self-contact, and entanglement before printing, predicting how the material will stretch, bend, or fail.
“Because this framework allows these metamaterials to be tailored to be softer in one place and stiffer in another, or to change shape as they stretch, they can exhibit an exceptional range of behaviors that would be hard to design using conventional soft materials,” says Molly Carton, lead author of the study.
“The most exciting part was being able to tailor failure in these materials and design arbitrary combinations,” Portela added. “Based on the simulations, we were able to fabricate these spatially varying geometries and experiment on them at the microscale.”
Expanding Applications Across Engineering Fields
Source: 3D Printing Industry
