"ColorFab" technology capable of 3D printing special ink capable of changing the color of an object simply by irradiating light

When purchasing products with abundant color variations, there are many things to worry about which color is the most perfect for you. MIT's researchers developed a structure manufacturing method developed by researchers who can change color by just hitting lightColorFab"Is put to practical use, color change according to the mood of" I will change to one's color "after all becomes possible, it may be unnecessary to get lost by color selection.

ColorFab: Recoloring 3D Printed Objects using Photochromic Inks
(PDF file)http://groups.csail.mit.edu/hcie/files/research-projects/colorfab/2018-chi-colorfab-paper.pdf

You can see how ColorFab is changing the color by looking at the following movie.

ColorFab: Color-Changing 3D Printables - YouTube


If we can change the color of things later, there seems to be a great demand in various fields such as displays and accessories.


"ColorFab" is a technology that can produce an object with special ink adhered with a 3D printer. Special ink has the feature that you can change the color of the object later by irradiating light.


Dr. Stefan Muller's research team at MIT successfully developed a special ink that can be printed with a 3D printer.


This special ink, when exposed to ultraviolet light ......


It has the property that the color changes.


Moreover, if you re-try it with visible light, the color returns to the bottom. Depending on the wavelength of the irradiated light, the ink can switch between activated and deactivated states, and the color changes.


ColorFab can output objects attached with this special ink with a 3D printer. Even objects with complex color patterns can be created with software ...


If you output with a 3D printer ......


You can create an "object that can change color by light irradiation".


With ColorFab you can also create objects with complex color schemes at the dot level.


Depending on the wavelength of ultraviolet light, it is possible to cause a color change only to a specific pixel.


It is also possible to draw letters.


ColorFab is specialized ink activated by ultraviolet irradiation and inactivated again when irradiated with visible light, it is a technology that can change the color of things for each scene because it can be output with a 3D printer that can print even complicated shapes. The coloring can be controlled precisely by about 1 mm square dots, and in the prototype, the light irradiation time required for color change is about 20 minutes.


Dr. Müller cites research objectives to replace the current situation that many things are discarded in consumer activities with efficient and efficient materials. In the future, we will change the color more efficiently by changing the material to be output, and further research will be advanced toward the output of the structure with higher resolution.