3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Self-bending actuators have time and cost reduction benefits for applications like self-assembly and self-deployable structures. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a promising rapid and accurate manufacturing method for controlling spatial self-bending actuation in custom-designed soft structures. This paper studies the features merely imparted by 3D printing fabrication in control of self-folding actuators. It is shown that 3D printing control parameters such as different spatial patterns of hinges affect the response time and bending angle of the actuator. A polystyrene (PS) pane as a representative of thermo-responsive shape memory polymers is used as the main material for being remotely stimulated via light…

Recent advances in 3D printing have enabled the fabrication of interesting structures which were not achievable using traditional fabrication approaches. 3D printing of carbon microtube composite inks allows fabrication of conductive structures for practical applications in soft robotics and tissue engineering. However, it is challenging to achieve 3D printed structures from solution‐based composite inks which requires an additional process to solidify the ink. Here, we introduce a wet 3D printing technique which uses a coagulation bath to fabricate carbon microtube composite structures. We show that through facile nanogrooving approach which introduces cavitation and channels on carbon microtubes, enhanced interfacial interactions…

Due to the growing interest in three-dimensional (3D) printed soft actuators, the establishment of an appropriate mathematical model that could effectively predict the actuators’ dynamic behavior has become necessary. This study presents the development of an effective modeling strategy for the dynamic analysis of a 3D printed polyelectrolyte actuator undergoing large bending deformations. The proposed model is composed of two parts, namely electrical and mechanical dynamic models. The electrical model describes the actuator as a gray box model, whereas the mechanical model relates the stored charges to the bending displacement through considering the printed actuator as a discretized system connected…

For three-dimensional bio-printed cell-laden hydrogel tissue constructs, the well-designed internal porous geometry is tailored to obtain the desired structural and cellular properties. However, significant differences often exist between the designed and as-printed scaffolds because of the inherent characteristics of hydrogels and cells. In this study, an iterative feedback bio-printing (IFBP) approach based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the fabrication of cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds with optimal geometrical fidelity and cellular controllability was proposed. A custom-made swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) system was applied to characterize the printed scaffolds quantitatively. Based on the obtained empirical linear formula from the first experimental feedback loop,…