Additive Manufacturing-Facilitated Blow Molding for Functional Thin-Walled Polymeric Structures

TL;DR

This paper introduces an innovative additive manufacturing-facilitated blow molding (AM-BM) technique that combines design flexibility with robustness, enabling rapid, low-cost production of complex, thin-walled polymeric structures with tunable geometry and mechanical properties.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel AM-BM method that replaces metal molds with 3D-printed resin molds, allowing for scalable, customizable fabrication of thin-walled structures with diverse functionalities.

Findings

Enables rapid, low-cost production of complex thin-walled structures.

Demonstrates multistable, origami, kirigami, and soft robotic applications.

Achieves high load-to-weight ratios and rapid response in soft actuators.

Abstract

Thin-walled structures capable of large, reversible deformation are key to multistable structures, origami, kirigami, and soft robotics. However, conventional fabrication techniques, including 3D printing, casting, and laser cutting, suffer from poor surface quality, low durability, complex processing steps, and restricted geometric freedom, hindering the repeatable production of thin-walled, continuous structures. Here, an additive manufacturing-facilitated blow molding (AM-BM) approach is introduced, combining the design flexibility of additive manufacturing with the robustness of blow molding. By replacing metal molds with 3D-printed resin ones, AM-BM enables rapid, low-cost fabrication of thin-walled polymeric components with tunable geometry and controllable wall thickness across diverse thermoplastic materials. The thickness control allows thin-walled components to function either as rigid load-bearing elements or as compliant hinges that permit reversible deformation. The versatility of AM-BM is demonstrated through representative examples: multistable structures with geometry-controlled buckling and rich reconfigurability; origami and kirigami structures with extensive design freedom, scalable complexity, and uniform mechanical properties; and soft actuators and robots with ultrahigh load-to-weight ratios, rapid response, and scalable design. Altogether, AM-BM provides an efficient and versatile method for creating thin-walled structures that combine geometric freedom, mechanical functionality, and scalable production.