New 3D printing method creates a working robot hand with a single run — One step closer to printing missing limbs at home

An image of Inkbit's 3D-printed robotic hand gripping different objects.
An image of Inkbit's 3D-printed robotic hand gripping different objects. (Image credit: Inkbit and ETH Zurich Researchers via Nature.com)

Researchers from Inkbit have leveraged their vision-controlled jetting (VCJ) 3D printing technology to print a functioning robotic hand in a single run. IEEE Spectrum covered this story but stemmed from Inkbit's own Nature article covering VCJ and its applications in exhaustive detail, with the hand being only one of many examples used.

So, what makes VCJ a big deal compared to the best 3D printers with traditional 3D printing methods? Let's break it down. By using a 3D vision scanner alongside an inkjet unit and a UV-curing unit, VCJ allows for precise layer-by-layer jetting-and-curing of multiple 3D printing materials. This means that soft and rigid materials can be printed simultaneously, and the 3D vision scanner ensures per-layer corrections can be made without needing direct contact with the construct.

(Image credit: Inkbit Researchers via Nature.com)

Besides a robotic hand, Inkjet showed other examples of its VCJ 3D printing method. These include a six-legged robot with a gripper for a "head" and even a robotic heart pump. Additional sensors are still required for these constructs to function. Still, the ability to fabricate such complex objects in a single go while using soft and rigid materials simultaneously marks a significant shift in what's possible with 3D printing.

Part of a graphic detailing the functions of a 3D printed heart made with Inkbit's VCJ 3D Printing process. (Image credit: Inkbit Researchers via Nature.com)

So, what are the potential uses for all of this? According to Robert Katschmann, a robotics professor at ETH Zurich, speaking to IEEE Spectrum, current 3D printing materials usable by this method are limited to ones that can be cured with UV light and aren't too dense for the inkjet. However, this could still lead to using materials that allow for the 3D printing of electronic circuits and even human-compatible tissue engineering.

As always, time will determine whether or not this is the 3D printing breakthrough needed to push the field into realms only previously seen in science fiction. But if the current video demonstrations with the original article are any indication, this fabrication tech might be the next big step we need.

Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

  • USAFRet
    "One step closer to printing missing limbs at home"

    No.
    Saying that is like saying if you have a camera and some rare earth magnets, you are close to doing an MRI at home.

    Will this find its way into the medical community? Sure.
    At home? No.
    Reply
  • jkhoward
    One step closer to AI being able to take over the planet :(
    Reply
  • usertests
    jkhoward said:
    One step closer to AI being able to take over the planet :(
    After they open your door to kill you, beg them for a handy.
    Reply
  • PEnns
    USAFRet said:
    "One step closer to printing missing limbs at home"

    No.
    Saying that is like saying if you have a camera and some rare earth magnets, you are close to doing an MRI at home.

    Will this find its way into the medical community? Sure.
    At home? No.

    Dammit!! There goes my dream of printing myself a new pair of eyes.....
    Reply
  • pclaughton
    USAFRet said:
    "One step closer to printing missing limbs at home"

    No.
    Saying that is like saying if you have a camera and some rare earth magnets, you are close to doing an MRI at home.

    Will this find its way into the medical community? Sure.
    At home? No.
    "One step closer" =/= "close". You're making a bad faith comparison.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    pclaughton said:
    "One step closer" =/= "close". You're making a bad faith comparison.
    OK, let me rephrase...
    "one step closer to doing an MRI at home"

    Still not.
    Reply
  • anbello262
    I find it interesting how you're all arguing that, when it's already not unheard of people printing hand prosthesis at home, or more comonly fingers.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    anbello262 said:
    I find it interesting how you're all arguing that, when it's already not unheard of people printing hand prosthesis at home, or more comonly fingers.
    Basic parts, yes.

    What is shown in this article is a whole different level.
    Reply