INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING-GREEN TECHNOLOGY Vol. 4, No. 3, pp.

359-371 JULY 2017 / 359

REVIEW PAPER DOI: 10.1007/s40684-017-0041-y

ISSN 2288-6206 (Print) / 2198-0810 (Online)

Effective Software Solutions for 4D Printing: A Review

and Proposal

Sungwook Chung1, Sang Eun Song2, and Young Tae Cho2,#

1 Department of Computer Engineering, Changwon National University, 20, Chanwondaehak-ro, Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 51140, South Korea
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Changwon National University, 20, Chanwondaehak-ro, Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 51140, South Korea
# Corresponding Author / E-mail: ytcho@changwon.ac.kr, TEL: +82-55-273-3608 FAX: +82-55-275-0101

KEYWORDS: 4D printing technology, Software solutions, 4D printing simulation, Modeling and slicing

In 4D printing, a target 3D object that can self-transform or self-assemble over time is created using a printer with smart materials.
Since the advent of 4D printing, much research has been conducted on smart materials and application of 4D printing in diverse areas.
However, research and development of 4D printing software is very limited due to the fact that 4D printing technology is still a novelty.
Nevertheless, the time characteristics of 4D printing require appropriate 4D printing software to produce effective 4D printing outputs.
In this article, we first introduce 4D printing technology and discuss its application in various fields. Then, we focus on the software
required for 4D printing. More specifically, we present six types of software solutions needed to fully support corresponding stages in
the 4D printing process: simulation, modeling, slicing, host/firmware, monitoring, and printing management software (PMS),
respectively. We discuss how each software solution can sufficiently carry out the designated functions at each stage of the 4D printing
process and propose that these software solutions can together provide all of the required operations for 4D printing.

Manuscript received: November 28, 2016 / Revised: February 1, 2017 / Accepted: May 9, 2017

1. Introduction shape gradually, in response to its environment over time, as shown in

Fig. 1.24-27
With advances in additive manufacturing technologies, three- It is also expected that this emerging 4D technology will be applied
dimensional (3D) printing has become very common and is thus far to many areas. Specifically, RNCOS anticipates that the market size of
being applied in many areas including industrial, architectural, 4D technology, if it is commercialized in 2019, will be 0.55 billion
biomedical, and mechanical.1-14 Although research is still being dollars in 2025, starting at 63 million dollars and with an average
conducted and advances are continuously being made in 3D printing in annual increase of 40%.28
terms of technologies and applications, one of the remarkable related Fundamentally, the main studies carried out with regards to 4D
breakthroughs to date is “4D printing,” in which 3D printing technology printing deal with smart materials and their environmental sensitivity
is combined with smart materials to produce objects that change shape over time. However, utilizing 4D printing technologies directly is
over time. More specifically, in 4D printing, the produced 3D object can difficult due to its novelty and the associated technical obstacles
self-transform or respond to external stimuli over time.15-22 involved. In addition, the technical effectiveness of 4D printing is still
The technology underlying 4D printing was introduced by Dr. unclear owing to insufficient self-transformation data on smart
Skylar Tibbits, the head of the Self-Assembly Lab, Massachusetts materials and environments. Discovering or synthesizing materials that
Institute of Technology (MIT), in a lecture entitled “The Emergence of are sensitive to external stimuli and which can easily self-transform is
4D printing”. He stated that 4D printing involves the design and also very demanding.29
creation of smart materials-based 3D objects with novel outstanding Furthermore, 4D printing software research is also essential as it
features, such as self-transformation and self-assembly over time.23 In underpins advances in 4D printing technology. That is, software support is
other words, a 3D product, which functions as a blueprint, is generated vital in 4D printing, for example, in areas such as simulation, modeling,
with smart materials such as temperature-, humidity-, or electro- design, and control. However, 4D printing software is currently very limited,
sensitive materials. Then, the generated 3D product self-transforms its especially software that can be utilized for the entire 4D printing process.

© KSPE and Springer 2017

 360 / JULY 2017 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING-GREEN TECHNOLOGY Vol. 4, No. 3

Fig. 1 Example of 4D printing: A flat surface self-folds into a

truncated octahedron23 (Adapted from Ref. 23 with permission)

Fig. 2 Complex flower morphologies generated by biomimetic 4D

In this article, we first investigate the recent trends in 4D printing printing61 (Adapted from Ref. 61 with permission)
technologies and applications. Specifically, we review the ways in
which 4D printing is currently applied. Subsequently, we focus on the
4D printing software that should be considered in order to effectively
build target 4D products. In addition, because explicit shapes or an
clear direction for 4D printing software has still not been concretely
established, we suggest software that are required for each step of the
4D printing product development process. The steps correspond to
Simulation, Modeling, Slicer, Host/Firmware, Monitoring, and Printing
Management software, respectively. We explain each of these software
and the reasons they are considered essential for 4D printing in detail Fig. 3 Software architecture and types of solutions for 4D printing
in the following section.
This article is organized as follows: Related work is discussed in technology can be fused with artificial biomedical tissue from
Section 2. The suggested and required 4D software components and universities around the world, including USA Organovo Holdings, and
architecture are outlined in Section 3. The types and characteristics of production of output capable of binding to the human body has been
each software application are summarized in respective tables. Finally, actively carried out.63-65 Biomedical 4D printing is expected to be the
we conclude this article by considering the effectiveness and the first area from which commercially available products are produced
expected future directions of 4D printing software in Section 4. using 4D printing technology.66,67
In addition, it is expected that 4D printing technology will be used
or applied in major industrial fields such as clothing, automobile,
2. Related Work aviation, medicine, and the military. It can be used in the garment
industry to print and spread clothes with the desired shape through the
Studies on shape transformation using various materials in diverse use of smart materials.68 It can also be used in the aviation industry
environments and the mechanical characteristics of the transformed through the development of solar panels to power self-calibration
structure have been conducted in 4D printing.30-46 components and satellites. In the medical field, it can be applied to
In addition, the inherent characteristics of the output responding to tissue cell engineering, self-assembled biomaterials, nanoparticle
stimuli make 4D printing highly applicable to the medical and design, nanorobot development, and artificial organ production.69
biotechnology fields. As a result, most 4D printing studies are Although 4D printing is currently actively being researched, very
conducted with the objective of developing smart biomaterials for little 4D printing software exist to support simulation, design,
biomedical applications.47-58 The smart materials used in 4D bio- modeling, and monitoring in 4D printing. Therefore, we discuss the
printing are largely responsive to four variables: humidity, temperature, software required for 4D printing in detail according to the 4D printing
electricity and magnetism, and light. The printing processes used in 4D development processes in the ensuing section.
printing can be divided into inkjet printing, macro-extrusion printing,
and laser-induced forward transfer.59,60 At Harvard University in the
US, the morphologies of flowers are fabricated by biomimetic 4D 3. Software for 4D Printing
printing,61 as in the example shown in Fig. 2. At George Washington
University, a novel renewable soybean oil epoxidized acrylate was As stated in the previous section, an effective software solution is key
solidified into smart and highly biocompatible scaffolds capable of in 4D printing as it enables the manufacture of desired 4D products. In
supporting the growth of multipotent human bone marrow this section, we therefore investigate six types of required software
mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) using a 3D laser printing solutions for 4D printing: Simulation, Modeling, Slicer, Host/Firmware,
technique.62 In addition, 4D printing technology and medical Monitoring, and Printing Management Software, as shown in Fig. 3.