On-demand electric motor: MIT's multimaterial 3D printer outputs a working motor in hours
MIT researchers have developed a multimaterial 3D‑printing platform that can fabricate fully functional electric machines in a single process. By upgrading a printer with four extruders, sensors, and a new control framework, they printed a linear motor using five materials in about three hours, with magnetization the only post-processing step and material costs around $0.50. The demonstration highlights the potential for on-site, distributed manufacturing of complex electromechanical devices, aiming to reduce downtime and supply-chain reliance and outlining plans to integrate magnetization and expand to fully 3D‑printed rotary motors.