2D material programming for 3D shaping

Two-dimensional (2D) growth-induced 3D shaping enables shape-morphing materials for diverse applications. However, quantitative design of 2D growth for arbitrary 3D shapes remains challenging. Here we show a 2D material programming approach for 3D shaping, which prints hydrogel sheets encoded with spatially controlled in-plane growth (contraction) and transforms them to programmed 3D structures. We design 2D growth for target 3D shapes via conformal flattening. We introduce the concept of cone singularities to increase the accessible space of 3D shapes. For active shape selection, we encode shape-guiding modules in growth that direct shape morphing toward target shapes among isometric configurations. Our flexible 2D printing process enables the formation of multimaterial 3D structures. We demonstrate the ability to create 3D structures with a variety of morphologies, including automobiles, batoid fish, and real human face. Two-dimensional (2D) growth-induced 3D shaping enables shape-morphing materials for diverse applications but quantitative design of 2D growth for arbitrary 3D shapes remains challenging. Here, the authors show a 2D material programming approach for arbitrary 3D shaping, which prints hydrogel sheets encoded with spatially controlled in-plane growth and transforms them to programmed 3D structures.