Australian stingless bees have developed an unusual method of constructing their honeycombs that has the potential to provide new impetus for 3D printing and material-efficient design. Unlike the usual hexagonal structure of European honeybees, these bees build their honeycombs horizontally and in a spiral arrangement. Observing this construction method, combined with high-resolution 4D X-ray microscopy, allows researchers to gain detailed insights into the microstructural design of the honeycombs – without destroying them.
A central feature of the design are fine vertical support pillars that are installed between the waxy disks and distribute the weight. These pillars are not solid, but show a deliberate arrangement and permeability.
Nikhilesh Chawla, Purdue’s Ransburg Professor in Materials Engineering and an expert in four-dimensional materials science, said :“What is amazing about this is they actually make vertical pillars creating structural support between the discs, believe it or not. The bees recycle the comb materials and use a spiral construction to efficiently build and maintain temperature stability in the comb. We can learn so much from their intelligent and multifunctional approaches to manufacturing.”
Not only the geometric shape is examined, but also the composition of the building materials. In addition to wax, the bees use resins, the proportions of which apparently vary depending on the season and location.
“So there’s a lot of questions that we have with the resin, like how much are they adding to the wax, and do they change the amount that they’re adding based on the location of the hive, the time of year and other factors?” Nicole Balog said. “Once we know how much they’re adding to it, how does that affect the mechanical properties of the hive?”
The research team sees natural architecture as an example of so-called biomimetics – an approach in which biological processes serve as a template for technical developments. For 3D printing in particular, this opens up prospects for designing load-bearing, adaptable structures with reduced use of materials.
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