Two 3D-printed soft, flexible scaffolds: The one on the left is maintained in a rigid, bent position via a cooled, rigid wax coating, while the one on the right is uncoated and remains compliant (here, it collapses under a wrench).
A 3D-printed soft, flexible scaffold that is coated in wax and is being compressed in a temperature-controlled chamber. Heating a composite whose wax coating has broken can enable the wax to soften and “heal” to restore its original strength and properties.
A 3D-printed soft, flexible scaffold that can exhibit “shape memory” properties (like soft foam) after being compressed.
Read: Phase-Changing Material to Allow Robots to Switch Between Hard and Soft States