Abstract
Lattice structures offer excellent stiffness to weight ratios and show promising potentials in decreasing the weight of structures. This has significant implications in reducing carbon footprint, especially in the automotive and aerospace sectors. In this paper, the aim is to enhance the efficiency of lattice structures further by embedding multiple functionalities into one structure. To reach this goal, a multi-material lattice structure was designed and manufactured using a Polyjet 3D printer capable of printing different polymers in a single print. By fabricating a lattice whose different struts were built from distinctive materials, it was possible to induce a continuous varying stiffness in the structure through temperature elevations. A compressive stiffness drop of more than 95% could be observed in the lattice with a 27-degree increase in temperature. The observations demonstrate the potential of using the proposed method in designing programmable lightweight structures which can be a leap forward in achieving more efficient and multi-purpose structures.