Researchers have designed a new 3D printing method called Crystallinity Regulation in Additive Fabrication of Thermoplastics (CRAFT) that turns a single, cheap liquid into a material chameleon. The method allows the creation of 3D objects with varying mechanical and optical properties — such as hardness and transparency — using a single, inexpensive material. 

CRAFT transforms a common liquid resin called cyclooctene into complex solid objects by projecting varying patterns of light through a commercial 3D printer. With the adjustment of the curing light’s intensity, researchers can make one part of an object hard and see-through while the part right next to it stays soft and cloudy — all within a single piece.