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Alternating Force Based Drop-on-Demand Microdroplet Formation and Three-Dimensional Deposition
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Alternating Force Based Drop-on-Demand Microdroplet Formation and Three-Dimensional Deposition

Long Zhao, Karen Chang Yan, Rui Yao, Feng Lin and Wei Sun
Journal of manufacturing science and engineering, v 137(3), pp 031009/1-031009/9
01 Jun 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029803
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Engineering Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Science & Technology Technology
Drop-on-demand (DOD) microdroplet formation and deposition play an important role in additive manufacturing, particularly in printing of three-dimensional (3D) in vitro biological models for pharmacological and pathological studies, for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, and for building of cell-integrated microfluidic devices. In development of a DOD based microdroplet deposition process for 3D cell printing, the droplet formation, controlled on-demand deposition and at the single-cell level, and most importantly, maintaining the viability and functionality of the cells during and after the printing are all remaining to be challenged. This report presents our recent study on developing a novel DOD based microdroplet deposition process for 3D printing by utilization of an alternating viscous and inertial force jetting (AVIFJ) mechanism. The results include an analysis of droplet formation mechanism, the system configuration, and experimental study of the effects of process parameters on microdroplet formation. Sodium alginate solutions are used for microdroplet formation and deposition. Key process parameters include actuation signal waveforms, nozzle dimensional features, and solution viscosity. Sizes of formed microdroplets are examined by measuring the droplet diameter and velocity. Results show that by utilizing a nozzle at a 45 mu m diameter, the size of the formed microdroplets is in the range of 52-72 mu m in diameter and 0.4-2.0 m/s in jetting speed, respectively. Reproducibility of the system is also examined and the results show that the deviation of the formed microdroplet diameter and the droplet deposition accuracy is within 6% and 6.2 mu m range, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate a high controllability and precision for the developed DOD microdroplet deposition system with a potential for precise cell printing.

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16 Record Views
11 citations in Web of Science
10 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Engineering, Manufacturing
Engineering, Mechanical
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