MIT engineers developed a technique for making intricate structures with supports that can be dissolved and reused instead of thrown away.

“Xstrings” method enables users to produce cable-driven objects, automatically assemble bionic robots, sculptures, and dynamic fashion designs.

Ideal for propelling tiny satellites, the lightweight devices could be produced on board a spacecraft and cost much less than traditional thrusters.

By fabricating semiconductor-free logic gates, which can be used to perform computation, researchers hope to streamline the manufacture of electronics.

By using a 3D printer like an iron, researchers can precisely control the color, shade, and texture of fabricated objects, using only one material.

The advance could help make 3D printing more sustainable, enabling printing with renewable or recyclable materials that are difficult to characterize.

The low-cost hardware outperforms state-of-the-art versions and could someday enable an affordable, in-home device for health monitoring.

The printed solenoids could enable electronics that cost less and are easier to manufacture — on Earth or in space.

Lightweight and inexpensive, miniaturized mass filters are a key step toward portable mass spectrometers that could identify unknown chemicals in remote settings.

The one-step fabrication process rapidly produces miniature chemical reactors that could be used to detect diseases or analyze substances.