▶ Targeting the complex structures of composite materials, a variety of traditional mold manufacturing processes are currently adopted, such as metal molds, bladder molds, water-soluble molds, and multi-assembly molds.

▶ However, these processes suffer from drawbacks including difficult molding, challenging demolding, inability to be recycled, long production cycles, and complex design.

▶ smart materials/structures are a new type of multifunctional materials/structures that can perceive changes in the external environment and make active responses.

▶ Based on smart materials, we propose a new concept of smart molds with variable stiffness, rapid demolding, and reusability.

▶ We create new advantages for molds, open up new tracks for smart manufacturing, and empower new-quality productive forces.