Reprinting the telegraph: Replicating the Vail register using multi-materials 3D printing

Solid Freeform Fabrication is a family of manufacturing processes that create three-dimensional objects by depositing material, layer-by-layer. Traditionally, this technology has been used to fabricate passive parts, but recently it has been used for producing active components such as batteries and soft-polymer actuators. In this paper we demonstrate the ability of this process to fabricate a complete, active electromechanical system. Using only SFF processes, we reproduced the 1844 Vail register - a landmark in digital communications history. With the techniques developed in this research, a range of solenoid devices can be fabricated and embedded into freeform fabricated devices. This could enable the realization of novel and otherwise difficult to manufacture electromechanical designs.