| Jan 23, 2014 |
Various microstructures fabricated by a solvent-cast 3-D printing technique
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(Nanowerk News) Various microstructures including straight filaments, layer-by-layer scaffolds and freeform helical spirals are fabricated by a solvent-cast three-dimensional printing technique, as reported by Professor Therriault and his co-researchers ("Solvent-Cast Three-Dimensional Printing of Multifunctional Microsystems").
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| The solvent-cast direct-write fabrication of microstructures is shown using a thermoplastic polymer solution ink. The method employs the robotically controlled microextrusion of a filament combined with a rapid solvent evaporation. Upon drying, the increased rigidity of the extruded filament enables the creation of complex freeform 3D shapes.
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The fabrication capabilities of this powerful and flexible process are demonstrated by the printing of three microsystems featuring mechanical, microfluidic and electrical functionalities, such as a high-toughness microstructured fibre, a 3D microchannel and a Ka band antenna.
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These capabilities can be extended through the utilization of other thermoplastic-based inks and the printing of features at the submicrometer- and potentially nanoscale.
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This is the first scientific publication by Shuang-Zhuang Guo, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering under the supervision of Professors Therriault of the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics (LM2) and Marie-Claude Heuzey of the Department of Chemical Engineering, both members of Polytechnique's Montréal's Centre for Applied Research on Polymers and Composites (CREPEC).
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