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  • UIUC MechSE replicates nature's finest fibers for new 3D printing method

    Mar 10, 2025 12:15 pm
    A spiral structure produced using embedded 3D printing. Image courtesy of M. Tanver Hossain.

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    • A spiral structure produced using embedded 3D printing. Image courtesy of M. Tanver Hossain.

    Professionals of all kinds—from artists to architects to scientists—have been drawing inspiration from nature for millennia. Now, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign engineers have managed to produce extremely fine fibers inspired by spider silk and hagfish slime.