MIT prints a working linear motor in three hours for about 50 cents
Feb 23rd 2026
Researchers built a multi-material 3D printer that lays five materials in one run to produce a functional linear motor that only needed post-print magnetization.
- Team retrofitted a printer with four deposition heads to print five materials including conductive and magnetic inks.
- The system printed a linear motor in about three hours and required only magnetization after printing to function.
- Material costs for the motor were roughly 50 cents, and the device performed as well as or better than traditionally made equivalents.
- Most standard extrusion printers switch between up to two materials, so the multi-material capability is the key advance enabling one-step motor builds.
- Authors published results in Virtual and Physical Prototyping and say the work is an early demonstration of onsite one-step hardware manufacturing.
- Practical limits remain including post-print magnetization, unknowns on scaleup and mass-production cost competitiveness, and the need for further validation.