Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
7mo ago

CRAFT 3D Printing Uses Light-Controlled Crystallinity to Produce a Realistic Human Hand

The approach works with low-cost DLP or LCD printers by modulating light intensity on a simple resin.

1 / 1Using an affordable 3D printer and the CRAFT method, researchers created a model human hand from a single feedstock with distinct domains that mimic the hardness or flexibility of skin, ligaments, tendons and bones. Credit ©: University of Texas at Austin

Overview

  • Researchers from UT Austin, Sandia National Laboratories and partners detailed the method in Science on January 29, 2026.
  • By projecting grayscale patterns into cyclooctene resin, the process tunes molecular order to create adjacent regions with different hardness or transparency within a single print.
  • The team demonstrated the technique by printing a lifelike human hand that mimics skin, ligaments, tendons and bone using one feedstock.
  • Potential uses include realistic surgical-training models that reduce reliance on cadavers and bioinspired energy-damping materials for protective gear or soundproofing.
  • The work, led by Alex Commisso and Samuel Leguizamon, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.