3D-printed “Kagome Tubes” dampen vibrations through geometric design

A research team from the University of Michigan and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has developed a novel structure capable of damping vibrations without any external energy input. The work is based on so-called “Kagome Tubes” — complex 3D-printed cylinders whose geometric design specifically attenuates oscillations. The findings, published in Physical Review Applied, could find applications in fields such as automotive engineering, aerospace, and construction.

The principle relies on the concept of mechanical metamaterials — materials whose properties are defined not by their chemical composition but by their internal structure. Instead of developing new material blends, the researchers design lattice geometries that produce specific physical effects.

“That’s where the real novelty is. We have the realization: We can actually make these things,” said James McInerney, a research associate at the AFRL. “We’re optimistic these can be applied for good purposes. In this case, it’s vibration isolation,” McInerney said.

“For centuries, humans have improved materials by altering their chemistry. Our work builds on the field of metamaterials, where it is geometry—rather than chemistry—that gives rise to unusual and useful properties,” Xiaoming Mao said. “These geometric principles can apply from the nanoscale to the macroscale, giving us extraordinary robustness.”

The printed tubes consist of a repeating lattice pattern layered and rolled into a cylindrical form. The “Kagome” structure — named after a traditional Japanese weaving pattern — creates a targeted vibration barrier through its topological arrangement. The team, led by James McInerney at AFRL, used precision 3D printing with nylon to fabricate the fine lattice connections and test their mechanical stability.

“There’s a real probability that we’re going to be able to manufacture materials from the ground up with crazy precision,” he said. “The vision is that we’re going to be able to create very specifically architectured materials and the question we’re asking is, ‘What can we do with that? How can we create new materials that are different from what we’re used to using?’”

“The idea isn’t that we’re going to replace steel and plastics, but use them more effectively,” McInerney said.

The research is still in its early stages. Initial tests show that the tubes effectively suppress vibrations but have lower load-bearing capacity. According to McInerney, this highlights the inherent trade-off between structural stability and damping performance. Future work will focus on optimizing design parameters and material selection.

“About a decade ago, there was a seminal publication that found out that Maxwell lattices can exhibit a topological phase,” McInerney said.

“Because we have such new behaviors, we’re still uncovering not just the models, but the way that we would test them, the conclusions we would draw from the tests and how we would implement those conclusions into a design process,” he said. “I think those are the questions that honestly need to be answered before we start answering questions about applications.”

The researchers see Kagome Tubes as an example of how additive manufacturing enables the creation of new classes of materials whose properties are determined by geometry rather than chemistry.