One of the biggest moments for China’s booming robotics industry this year was the catwalk performance by carmaker Xpeng’s new humanoid robot: it was so lifelike that founder He Xiaopeng had to unzip its back to prove there was no person inside.
The reveal exposed what was under the covers: bionic “muscles” that enable such uncanny lifelikeness, made possible by the 3D printing technology and high-performance materials from Chinese start-up PollyPolymer.
Wang Wenbin, founder and chairman of PollyPolymer, told the Post in a recent interview that the company has “established joint research and development (R&D) partnerships with several leading robotics companies, including more than 20 from China”.
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As well as the bionic muscles for Xpeng, PollyPolymer has developed joint cushioning kits for UBTech Robotics and integrated foot kits for EngineAI.
Bionic muscles for humanoid robots require a special material that “must simultaneously meet four core requirements: high elasticity, excellent heat dissipation, superior wear resistance and anti-ageing properties”, Wang said, adding that the molecular structure was modified to achieve an elongation rate of 300 per cent while maintaining a skin-like texture.
Wang Wenbin, founder and chairman of 3D-printing start-up PollyPolymer. Photo: Handout alt=Wang Wenbin, founder and chairman of 3D-printing start-up PollyPolymer. Photo: Handout>
Based in Suzhou in eastern Jiangsu province, PollyPolymer not only has around 10,000 sets of material formulations, but it also developed the proprietary “hindered asynchronous light synthesis (HALS)” 3D printing technology that boosts printing speed by up to 100 times compared with traditional 3D printing.
A materials expert, Wang founded PollyPolymer in 2017 and developed a mature 3D-printing technology for footwear two years later. Shoes remain the company’s main market, accounting for 60 per cent of its total revenue.
This year, the company’s capacity to print shoes reached 2 million pairs, which was set to double in 2026, Wang said. However, it is still a nascent market with less than 0.1 per cent of shoes worldwide being 3D-printed. Wang’s goal is to increase that to 10 per cent in seven years.
Working with brands such as Cole Haan, Skechers and Peak Sport Products, PollyPolymer not only supplies components like highly elastic soles and lightweight vamps, but also entire shoes printed as one piece.