Building with air – how nature’s hole-filled blueprints shape manufacturing

3D printing makes it easier for engineers to design cheap, lightweight materials that reflect patterns found in nature.

By: Anne Schmitz, University of Wisconsin-Stout, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 3, 2026

Words: 1,085

Last Updated: 1 month, 1 week ago

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By Anne Schmitz, University of Wisconsin-Stout

If you break open a chicken bone, you won’t find a solid mass of white material inside. Instead, you will see a complex, spongelike network of tiny struts and pillars, and a lot of empty space.

It looks fragile, yet that internal structure allows a bird’s wing to withstand high winds while remaining light enough for flight. Nature rarely builds with solid blocks. Instead, it builds with clever, porous …

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