3D printing is making soft robotics more practical by forming flexible bodies, intricate internal channels and, in some processes, multiple materials or functions in one build. The printed shape alone does not make a robot move: designers must pair the geometry with an actuator, a stimulus and a control method suited to the job.
That is why there is no universally “best” printer or material for soft robots. Fused filament fabrication, direct ink writing, vat photopolymerization, material jetting and selective laser sintering each offer different combinations of flexibility, resolution, multimaterial capability and durability. The right choice depends on the task, environment and way the robot will be actuated.
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What makes a robot “soft”?
A soft robot uses compliant bodies or components that can bend, stretch, compress or twist substantially during operation. Instead of relying only on rigid links and hinged joints, it can distribute motion through an elastic structure. This lets a gripper conform to an uneven object, a medical device navigate delicate anatomy or a crawler move through a confined space without the same hard contact forces produced by rigid mechanisms.
Softness is a design property, not a single material label. Silicone, elastomeric polymers, hydrogels, shape-memory materials and flexible thermoplastics can all appear in soft-robot designs, but their behavior differs. A structure may be soft in one direction and stiff in another because its walls, ribs, folds or internal cavities are printed with different geometry. Designers therefore tune both material properties and architecture.
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A review in Chem & Bio Engineering, published online April 18, 2024, describes the field as an effort to connect polymer properties and printing methods with the way actuators generate motion and with the robot’s eventual performance. The authors write: “With inspiration from natural systems, various soft actuators and robots have been explored in recent years with versatile applications in biomedical and engineering fields.” Read the 2024 review.
Why 3D printing matters for soft robotics
Conventional fabrication can require molds, manual assembly, bonding and separate steps for channels, hinges or embedded components. Additive manufacturing builds a part layer by layer from a digital model, making unusual geometries economical to iterate. A designer can vary wall thickness, add lattices, route a pneumatic channel through a body or create a patterned surface without machining every feature separately.
Some printing approaches also support multimaterial or multifunctional construction. A rigid region can provide a mounting point while a compliant region supplies bending; conductive, magnetic or otherwise responsive elements can be positioned where they influence motion. Whether that integration is possible depends on the printer, feedstocks and curing or sintering process. “3D printing” is therefore a family of techniques, not a guarantee that every material or feature can be combined in one pass.
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The 2025 review Advances in 3D and 4D Printing of Soft Robotics and Their Applications, issued June 1, 2025, analyzed 3,556 Web of Science articles published from 2011 through 2024. That number is the review’s search-and-analysis corpus, not a count of working robots, commercial products or deployed systems. Read the 2025 review.
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Which 3D-printing processes are used?
The main processes surveyed in the reviews differ in feedstock, resolution, mechanical behavior and ability to combine materials. Their capabilities should be matched to the robot rather than treated as interchangeable.
| Process | What it can offer | Important design questions |
|---|---|---|
| Fused filament fabrication (FFF) | Thermoplastic parts deposited through a heated nozzle; accessible for rapid prototypes and geometries that can be printed with flexible filament. | Will layer bonding, print orientation and the chosen flexible polymer provide the required elasticity and air-tightness? Can the printer reliably feed that filament? |
| Direct ink writing (DIW) | Extrudes viscous inks or pastes, enabling patterned deposition and formulations that may include soft, functional or smart materials. | Does the ink maintain its shape after deposition, and what curing or drying step is required? How will nozzle size and rheology limit detail? |
| Vat photopolymerization | Uses light to cure liquid resin selectively, supporting fine features and photopolymer formulations with tailored stiffness. | Can the resin survive repeated flexing, and can uncured material be removed from internal channels? Are the required elastic or responsive resins available for the design? |
| Material jetting | Deposits droplets of one or more photopolymers, allowing finely located material changes in suitable systems. | Are the available materials compatible in curing, shrinkage and long-term fatigue? Does the machine support the needed material combination? |
| Selective laser sintering (SLS) | Fuses powder layer by layer without the same support structures required by some nozzle or vat methods, useful for complex enclosed geometries in suitable polymers. | What powder and thermal cycle produce the needed flexibility? How will surface finish, porosity and powder removal affect seals or moving features? |
The reviews do not establish a single winning process, and they do not rank consumer printers. A process that produces excellent detail may yield a part that is too brittle or difficult to seal; a more flexible process may impose limits on resolution, unsupported spans or multimaterial integration.
How do 3D-printed soft robots move?
Printing supplies the body; actuation supplies energy and motion. Smart materials and compliant mechanisms can be designed to respond to different physical or chemical stimuli. The stimulus determines what hardware, control loop and operating environment the robot needs.
Temperature-responsive actuation
Thermally responsive polymers, shape-memory materials or composites change shape as they are heated or cooled. A printed element may curl, contract or recover a programmed form. Temperature control can be simple in principle, but heating and cooling rates, insulation and tissue-safe operating limits matter. Thermal cycling also affects lifetime.
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Magnetic actuation
Magnetic particles or magnets embedded in a printed body can let an external magnetic field pull, rotate or deform it. The robot can move without a wired power source inside the body, but the field-generating equipment, distance and orientation constrain the workspace. Magnetic loading may also change stiffness or increase print complexity.
Light-responsive actuation
Photothermal, photochemical or photoresponsive materials react to selected wavelengths. Light can provide remote, localized control, although penetration through opaque materials or biological tissue, heating and the need for line of sight can limit where it works.
Acoustic actuation
Ultrasound or other acoustic signals can deliver energy remotely and may create vibration, deformation or movement in a responsive structure. Coupling the sound field to the printed material is design-specific, and surrounding fluids or boundaries influence behavior.
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Hygroscopic materials swell or shrink as moisture changes. This can produce bending or folding without motors, but response speed depends on diffusion and exposed surface area. Ambient humidity, drying and protective coatings must be considered for repeatable operation.
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Chemical actuation
Chemically responsive materials alter volume, stiffness or shape when exposed to a reagent or a change in composition. Such systems can be useful where chemical conditions are controlled, yet the reagent must be safe for the environment and the reaction must remain reversible or otherwise acceptable for the intended lifetime.
Other soft robots use pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, cable tension, electroactive effects or external mechanical drives. Those are actuation architectures rather than a property automatically provided by a printer. A pneumatic design, for example, needs sealed chambers plus a pump, tubing, valves and fittings sized for its pressure and flow requirements.
A practical design workflow
- Define the task and environment. Specify the object to grasp, the path to follow, allowable contact force, temperature, moisture, chemicals, magnetic or optical access, and whether the robot must work around people or tissue. These requirements determine the acceptable stimulus and materials.
- Select an actuation principle first. Decide whether the motion will come from pressure, heat, a magnetic field, light, sound, humidity, chemicals or another input. Estimate where the energy source and control hardware will sit; a clever material is not useful if its stimulus cannot reach the robot.
- Choose a printing process and material family. Compare the feature size, flexibility, fatigue resistance, sealing needs, curing or sintering steps and multimaterial requirements. For an FFF prototype, flexible TPU filament is a possible path, but the reviews do not identify a universal TPU grade or prove compatibility with every printer. Verify the printer’s feed path, nozzle and temperature specifications for the exact filament.
- Design compliance into the geometry. Use variable wall thickness, ribs, hinges, lattices, folds or internal chambers to direct deformation. Add rigid interfaces where the robot connects to a frame, sensor or actuator. Model clearances for uncured resin, powder removal or support material if the chosen process requires them.
- Plan multimaterial and functional features. Decide whether the build needs separate stiffness zones, conductive paths, magnetic particles, a flexible seal or an embedded channel. If the machine cannot print those materials together, design mechanical joints or assembly steps rather than assuming they can be deposited in one job.
- Print, cure and finish according to the material. Follow the process-specific thermal, light-curing, drying or powder-handling requirements. Inspect layer bonding, trapped resin or powder, blocked channels, leaks and warped interfaces before attaching external hardware.
- Characterize motion incrementally. Apply the stimulus at low energy, measure displacement and force, then repeat for cycles that represent the intended use. Check hysteresis, response time, heat buildup, chemical compatibility and failure at seams. A prototype demonstration does not establish clinical safety or production durability.
- Iterate the digital model. Change one variable at a time—wall thickness, channel size, material formulation, print orientation or stimulus level—so that improvements can be attributed to a design decision rather than an uncontrolled combination of changes.
Material choices and the role of flexible filament
Material selection balances elasticity, strength, tear resistance, fatigue life, permeability, biocompatibility and response to the chosen stimulus. A polymer that bends easily may creep under load; a stiffer polymer may deliver more force but lose the compliant contact that makes the robot useful. Smart materials add a responsive function but can introduce slower recovery, hysteresis or sensitivity to environmental conditions.
TPU 3D-printer filament is a reasonable category to investigate for some FFF-based flexible prototypes because it is available as a thermoplastic elastomer. That statement is conditional: a specific TPU formulation, shore hardness, diameter tolerance and printer setup determine whether a part feeds correctly, bonds between layers and remains airtight. Neither review names a grade, brand or consumer-printer combination, so specifications must be checked for the particular design.
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DIW and vat-based systems can open material options unavailable to FFF, including formulated inks, hydrogels or elastic photopolymers. They may also require laboratory equipment, controlled curing or post-processing. The apparent simplicity of a printed shape should not be confused with a simple material workflow.
Where are printed soft robots being explored?
Biomedical and engineering applications are active areas of investigation. The reviews discuss concepts such as compliant manipulation, adaptive structures and drug delivery. A drug-delivery demonstration indicates a design possibility, not approval for treatment, proof of safety in patients or broad commercial deployment. Clinical use would require separate evidence on biocompatibility, sterility, dosage control, reliability and regulatory authorization.
Engineering prototypes can target gripping delicate objects, locomotion over irregular surfaces, wearable assistance, fluidic manipulation or operation in confined environments. Each application changes the priority: a gripper may need low contact force and high compliance; a field robot may need abrasion resistance and environmental sealing; a biomedical device may prioritize safe materials and remote control over raw speed.
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How to choose among approaches
| Decision axis | Questions to answer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Printing process | What feature size, geometry, support strategy and post-processing are acceptable? | Process limits determine whether channels, lattices, folds and enclosed spaces can be produced reliably. |
| Material properties | How much stretch, force, fatigue resistance, permeability and environmental tolerance are required? | Mechanical behavior controls motion, lifetime and whether the robot remains safe in contact with its surroundings. |
| Multimaterial or integrated functions | Must stiffness zones, sensors, magnets, conductors or seals be printed together? | Some systems support material changes; others require assembly and may introduce weak interfaces. |
| Actuation and energy | Can the workspace provide pressure, heat, fields, light, sound, humidity or chemicals? | The stimulus determines control hardware, range, response time and safety constraints. |
| Intended task | Is the priority precision, gentle contact, force, speed, endurance, compactness or biocompatibility? | No process-material pair optimizes every requirement; the task supplies the weighting. |
This framework is more reliable than choosing a printer first. A desktop FFF machine may be suitable for an inexpensive geometry study, while a multimaterial or high-resolution design may require a specialized system. The reviews provide a map of these trade-offs, not a consumer buying guide.
Common failure modes and fixes
- The part prints but will not bend as designed: inspect print orientation, layer seams, wall thickness and material stiffness; alter the compliant geometry before increasing stimulus energy.
- A pneumatic chamber leaks: check interlayer bonding, thin walls, trapped support material and fittings. Redesign seals or use a process and material better suited to airtight features.
- Motion is inconsistent: control temperature, humidity, curing time and stimulus intensity, and record cycle history. Smart materials can show hysteresis and environmental sensitivity.
- Multimaterial interfaces delaminate: verify chemical and thermal compatibility, reduce abrupt stiffness changes and consider mechanical interlocks or post-print assembly.
- The robot degrades quickly: test repeated cycles, abrasion, chemicals and sterilization conditions relevant to the task. A successful first demonstration says little about service life.
- A printer cannot feed flexible filament: confirm the manufacturer’s supported diameter, extruder path, nozzle and temperature range before buying TPU or redesigning around it.
What the current evidence does—and does not—show
The two reviews establish a rapidly expanding research field and a broad menu of fabrication and actuation strategies. They do not prove that one printing method is superior, that a particular consumer printer can produce a given robot, or that a biomedical concept is ready for clinical use. Performance numbers from individual prototypes must be checked in their original studies because review articles summarize heterogeneous experiments rather than provide a controlled head-to-head test.
For a reader planning a prototype, the useful conclusion is specific: start with the task, choose an actuation stimulus that the environment can deliver, then select a printing process and material whose geometry and mechanical properties satisfy that requirement. Treat every claim about durability, safety, compatibility or deployment as design-specific until it has been tested under the intended conditions.
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