Silk fabricator: using silkworms as 3D printers

Digital fabrication has evolved over time with the development of various methods such as three-dimensional (3D) printing and laser cutting. Three-dimensional printers are capable of easily producing output from complicated models designed in a computer. In addition, bio technologies are applying for fabrication [Yao et al. 2015]. How can 3D printers be made to output computationally-designed models of 3D sheets? Typically, the production of objects made of silk threads requires several steps (Figure 2): (1) silkworms form cocoons, (2) cocoons are made into threads, and (3) threads are transformed into clothes or other products. In the past, silkworms have been considered primarily as organisms that create silk threads, rather than as being capable of providing a method of silk production. Silk Pavillion [Oxman et al. 2014] was the first example where silkworms were regarded as providing a viable production method. However, this study only focused on making large but simple structures. In this study, we propose a new method to construct arbitrary three-dimensional silk sheets using silkworms (Figure 1). Our method can be applied to small objects printed with 3D printers. First, we print a 3D model in several parts to prevent silkworms from forming cocoons. When designing the model, we ensure that the silkworms have sufficient space to create silk sheets. Second, we print the portions of the model with a 3D printer. Third, we place silkworms on these portions, allowing them to spit silk threads. Finally, we peel off the produced sheets and connect them. This approach depends on the fact that when silkworms are placed on the surface of a three-dimensional object, they create silk sheets matched to the shape of the surface.