So how does it sound when I say that this is a titanium origami crane? Would you again believe that the same crane has a size comparable to that of a coin? The miniature size, titanium and origami actually have a significance and are connected together. In the past it was impossible to handle and manipulate objects with size less than a quarter, created with 3D printing technology. This is because the upper layers put pressure on the lower layers resulting in the deformation of the object.

This origami crane created by researchers from University of Illinois thus explores a new method of building up minute objects [especially miniature devices for medical purposes] by folding up flat sheets of titanium which was otherwise futile with 3D printing.

Titanium hydride is by itself pretty rigid, but the printing process using certain solvents makes it soft enough to shape it in the desired form by folding techniques. But the material is still rigid enough to hold on to that shape. After the object is created, there are processes to obtain the object in the form of pure titanium so that using it in the human body is possible.

[source : popsci.com]