Soft pneumatic actuators by digital light processing combined with injection-assisted post-curing

The soft robotics display huge advantages over their rigid counterparts when interacting with living organisms and fragile objects.As one of the most efficient actuators toward soft robotics,the soft pneumatic actuator(SPA)can produce large,complex responses with utilizing pressure as the only input source.In this work,a new approach that combines digital light processing(DLP)and injection-assisted post-curing is proposed to create SPAs that can realize different functionalities.To enable this,we develop a new class of photo-cross linked elastomers with tunable mechanical properties,good stretchability,and rapid curing speed.By carefully designing the geometry of the cavities embedded in the actuators,the resulting actuators can realize contracting,expanding,flapping,and twisting motions.In addition,we successfully fabricate a soft self-sensing bending actuator by injecting conductive liquids into the three-dimensional(3D)printed actuator,demonstrating that the present method has the potential to be used to manufacture intelligent soft robotic systems.

High strength mullite-bond SiC porous ceramics fabricated by digital light processing

Fabricating SiC ceramics via the digital light processing(DLP)technology is of great challenge due to strong light absorption and high refractive index of deep-colored SiC powders,which highly differ from those of resin,and thus significantly affect the curing performance of the photosensitive SiC slurry.In this paper,a thin silicon oxide(SiO_(2))layer was in-situ formed on the surface of SiC powders by pre-oxidation treatment.This method was proven to effectively improve the curing ability of SiC slurry.The SiC photosensitive slurry was fabricated with solid content of 55 vol%and viscosity of 7.77 Pa·s(shear rate of 30 s^(−1)).The curing thickness was 50μm with exposure time of only 5 s.Then,a well-designed sintering additive was added to completely convert low-strength SiO_(2) into mullite reinforcement during sintering.Complexshaped mullite-bond SiC ceramics were successfully fabricated.The flexural strength of SiC ceramics sintered at 1550℃in air reached 97.6 MPa with porosity of 39.2 vol%,as high as those prepared by spark plasma sintering(SPS)techniques.

Microfluidic bubble-generator enables digital light processing 3D printing of porous structures

Three-dimensional(3D)printing is an emerging technique that has shown promising success in engineering human tissues in recent years.Further development of vatphotopolymerization printing modalities has significantly enhanced the complexity level for 3D printing of various functional structures and components.Similarly,the development of microfluidic chip systems is an emerging research sector with promising medical applications.This work demonstrates the coupling of a digital light processing(DLP)printing procedure with a microfluidic chip system to produce size-tunable,3D-printable porosities with narrow pore size distributions within a gelatin methacryloyl(GelMA)hydrogel matrix.It is found that the generation of size-tunable gas bubbles trapped within an aqueous GelMA hydrogel-precursor can be controlled with high precision.Furthermore,the porosities are printed in two-dimensional(2D)as well as in 3D using the DLP printer.In addition,the cytocompatibility of the printed porous scaffolds is investigated using fibroblasts,where high cell viabilities as well as cell proliferation,spreading,and migration are confirmed.It is anticipated that the strategy is widely applicable in a range of application areas such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,among others.

A novel mullite anti-gyroid/SiC gyroid ceramic metastructure based on digital light processing 3D printing with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption and mechanical properties

Sic-based composites are widely used as electromagnetic wave absorbers due to their excellent dielectric properties.However,the constraints associated with structural design and the intricacies of the preparation process hinder their broader application.In this study,novel mullite anti-gyroid/SiC gyroid metastructures are designed to integrate the mechanical and electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorption properties of composite materials.Mullite anti-gyroid/SiC gyroid composites are fabricated utilizing a combination of digital light processing(DLP)three-dimensional(3D)printing and precursor infiltration and pyrolysis(PiP)processes.Through the modulation of structural units,the electromagnetic parameters can be effectively regulated,thus improving the impedance matching characteristics of the composites.The structural composites show outstanding EMW absorption properties,with a minimum reflection loss of-54 dB at a thickness of 1.9 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.20 GHz at a thickness of 2.2 mm.Furthermore,the PIP process significantly enhances the mechanical properties of the composites;compared with those of the mullite/SiC ceramics,the flexural strength of the composites is improved by 3.69-5.85 times(13.28±1.15 MPa vs.(49.05±1.07)-(77.78±3.72)MPa),and the compressive strength is improved by 4.59-13.58 times(8.55±0.90 MPa vs.(39.02±1.63)-(116.13±2.58)MPa).This approach offers a novel and effective method for fabricating structural composites with an expanded range of higher electromagnetic wave absorption properties and improved mechanical properties.

Influence of high-temperature oxidation of SiC powders on curing properties of SiC slurry for digital light processing

Fabrication of silicon carbide(SiC)ceramics by digital light processing(DLP)technology is difficult owing to high refractive index and high ultraviolet(UV)absorptivity of SiC powders.The surface of the SiC powders can be coated with silicon oxide(SiO_(2))with low refractive index and low UV absorptivity via high-temperature oxidation,reducing the loss of UV energy in the DLP process and realizing the DLP preparation of the SiC ceramics.However,it is necessary to explore a high-temperature modification process to obtain a better modification effect of the SiC powders.Therefore,the high-temperature modification behavior of the SiC powders is thoroughly investigated in this paper.The results show that nano-scale oxide film is formed on the surface of the SiC powders by short-time high-temperature oxidation,effectively reducing the UV absorptivity and the surface refractive index(nʹ)of the SiC powders.When the oxidation temperature is 1300℃,compared with that of unoxidized SiC powders,the UV absorptivity of oxidized SiC powders decreases from 0.5065 to 0.4654,and a curing depth of SiC slurry increases from 22±4 to 59±4μm.Finally,SiC green bodies are successfully prepared by the DLP with the the oxidized powders,and flexural strength of SiC sintered parts reaches 47.9±2.3 MPa after 3 h of atmospheric sintering at 2000℃without any sintering aid.

Fabrication of Ceramic-Polymer Piezo-Composites with Triply Periodic Minimal Interfaces via Digital Light Processing

The geometry of the phase interface in co-continuous piezoelectric composites is critical in improving their piezo-electric properties.However,conventional co-continuous piezoelectric composites are mostly simple structures such as wood stacks or honeycombs,which are prone to stress concentrations at the joints,thus reducing the fatigue service performance and force-electric conversion efficiency of piezoelectric composites.Such simple structures limit further improvements in the overall performance of co-continuous piezoelectric composites.In this study,based on the digital light processing 3D printing method,we investigated the influence of three dif-ferent structures-the gyroid,diamond,and woodpile interfaces-on the piezoelectric and mechanical properties of co-continuous ceramic/polymer piezoelectric composites.These findings demonstrate that the gyroid and di-amond interfaces outperformed the ceramic skeleton of the woodpile interface in terms of both mechanical and electrical properties.When the ceramic volume percentage was 50%,the piezo-composite of the gyroid surface exhibited the greatest hydrostatic figure of merit(HFOM),reaching 4.23×10^(−12) Pa^(−1),and its piezoelectric coeffi-cient(d_(33))and relative dielectric constant(εr)reached 115 pC/N and 748,respectively.The research results lay the foundation for the application of co-continuous piezoelectric composites in underwater communication and detection.

Tough PEG-only hydrogels with complex 3D structure enabled by digital light processing of“all-PEG”resins

Digital light processing(DLP)of structurally complex poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)hydrogels with high mechanical toughness represents a long-standing challenge in thefield of 3D printing.Here,we report a 3D printing approach for the high-resolution manufacturing of structurally complex and mechanically strong PEG hydrogels via heat-assisted DLP.Instead of using aqueous solutions of photo-crosslinkable monomers,PEG macromonomer melts werefirst printed in the absence of water,resulting in bulk PEG networks.Then,post-printing swelling of the printed networks was achieved in water,producing high-fidelity 3D hydrogels with complex structures.By employing a dual-macromonomer resin containing a PEG-based four-arm macrophotoinitiator,“all-PEG”hydrogel constructs were pro-duced with compressive toughness up to 1.3 MJ m^(-3).By this approach,porous 3D hydrogel scaffolds with trabecular-like architecture were fabricated,and the scaf-fold surface supported cell attachment and the formation of a monolayer mimicking bone-lining cells.This study highlights the promises of heat-assisted DLP of PEG photopolymers for hydrogel fabrication,which may accelerate the development of 3D tissue-like constructs for regenerative medicine.

Additive manufacturing of hydroxyapatite bioceramic scaffolds: Dispersion, digital light processing, sintering, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility

Hydroxyapatite(HA)bioceramic scaffolds were fabricated by using digital light processing(DLP)based additive manufacturing.Key issues on the HA bioceramic scaffolds,including dispersion,DLP fabrication,sintering,mechanical properties,and biocompatibility were discussed in detail.Firstly,the ffects of dispersant dosage,solid loading,and sintering temperature were studied.The optimal dispersant dosage,solid loading,and sintering temperature were 2wt%,50vol%,and 1250℃,respectively.Then,the mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the HA bioceramic scaffolds were investigated.The DLP-prepared porous HA bioceramic scaffold was found to exhibit excellent mechanical properties and degradation behavior.From this study,DLP technique shows good potential for manufacturing HA bioceramic scaffolds.

High performance hydroxyapatite ceramics and a triply periodic minimum surface structure fabricated by digital light processing 3D printing

High performance hydroxyapatite(HA)ceramics with excellent densification and mechanical properties were successfully fabricated by digital light processing(DLP)three-dimensional(3D)printing technology.It was found that the sintering atmosphere of wet C02 can dramatically improve the densification process and thus lead to better mechanical properties.HA ceramics with a relative density of 97.12%and a three-point bending strength of 92.4 MPa can be achieved at a sintering temperature of 1300℃,which makes a solid foundation for application in bone engineering.Furthermore,a relatively high compressive strength of 4.09 MPa can be also achieved for a DLP-printed p-cell triply periodic minimum surface(TPMS)structure with a porosity of 74%,which meets the requirement of cancellous bone substitutes.A further cell proliferation test demonstrated that the sintering atmosphere of wet CO2 led to improve cell vitality after 7 days of cell culture Moreover,with the possible benefit from the bio-inspired structure,the 3D-printed TPMS structure significantly improved the cell vitality,which is crucial for early osteogenesis and osteointegration.

Fabrication and biological evaluation of 3D-printed calcium phosphate ceramic scaffolds with distinct macroporous geometries through digital light processing technology

Digital light processing(DLP)-based 3D printing technique holds promise in fabricating scaffolds with high precision.Here raw calcium phosphate(CaP)powders were modified by 5.5%monoalcohol ethoxylate phosphate(MAEP)to ensure high solid loading and low viscosity.The rheological tests found that photocurable slurries composed of 50wt%modified CaP powders and 2wt%toners were suitable for DLP printing.Based on geometric models designed by computer-aided design(CAD)system,three printed CaP ceramics with distinct macroporous structures were prepared,including simple cube,octet-truss and inverse face-centered cube(fcc),which presented the similar phase composition and microstructure,but the different macropore geometries.Inverse fcc group showed the highest porosity and compressive strength.The in vitro and in vivo biological evaluations were performed to compare the bioactivity of three printed CaP ceramics,and the traditional foamed ceramic was used as control.It suggested that all CaP ceramics exhibited good biocompatibility,as evidence by an even bone-like apatite layer formation on the surface,and the good cell proliferation and spreading.A mouse intramuscular implantation model found that all of CaP ceramics could induce ectopic bone formation,and foam group had the strongest osteoinduction,followed by inverse fcc,while cube and octet-truss had the weakest one.It indicated that macropore geometry was of great importance to affect the osteoinductivity of scaffolds,and spherical,concave macropores facilitated osteogenesis.These findings provide a strategy to design and fabricate high-performance orthopedic grafts with proper pore geometry and desired biological performance via DLP-based 3D printing technique.

Preparation and properties of T-ZnO_(w) enhanced BCP scaffolds with double-layer structure by digital light processing

Bone scaffolds require both good bioactivity and mechanical properties to keep shape and promote bone repair.In this work,T-ZnO_(w) enhanced biphasic calcium phosphate(BCP)scaffolds with triply periodic minimal surface(TPMS)-based double-layer porous structure were fabricated by digital light processing(DLP)with high precision.Property of suspension was first discussed to obtain better printing quality.After sintering,T-ZnO_(w) reacts with b-tricalcium phosphate(β-TCP)to form Ca_(19)Zn_(2)(PO_(4))14,and inhibits the phase transition toα-TCP.With the content of T-ZnO_(w) increasing from 0 to 2 wt%,the flexural strength increases from 40.9 to 68.5 MPa because the four-needle whiskers can disperse stress,and have the effect of pulling out as well as fracture toughening.However,excessive whiskers will reduce the cure depth,and cause more printing defects,thus reducing the mechanical strength.Besides,T-ZnO_(w) accelerates the deposition of apatite,and the sample with 2 wt%T-ZnO_(w) shows the fastest mineralization rate.The good biocompatibility has been proved by cell proliferation test.Results confirmed that doping T-ZnO_(w) can improve the mechanical strength of BCP scaffolds,and keep good biological property,which provides a new strategy for better bone repair.

Demonstration of a Polymer-Based Single Step Waveguide by 3D Printing Digital Light Processing Technology for Isopropanol Alcohol-Concentration Sensor

A polymer based horizontal single step waveguide fbr the sensing of alcohol is developed and analyzed.The waveguide is fabricated by 3-dimensional(3D)printing digital light processing(DLP)technology using monocure 3D rapid ultraviolet(UV)clear resin with a refractive index of n=1.50.The fabricated waveguide is a one-piece tower shaped ridge structure.It is designed to achieve the maximum light confinement at the core by reducing the effective refractive index around the cladding region.With the surface roughness generated from the 3D printing DLP technology,various waveguides with different gap sizes are printed.Comparison is done fbr the different gap waveguides to achieve the minimum feature gap size utilizing the light re-coupling principle and polymer swelling effect.This effect occurs due to the polymer-alcohol interaction that results in the diffusion of alcohol molecules inside the core of the waveguide,thus changing the waveguide from the leaky type(without alcohol)to the guided type(with alcohol).Using this principle,the analysis of alcohol concentration performing as a larger increase in the transmitted light in tensity can be measured.In this work,the sensitivity of the system is also compared and analyzed fbr different waveguide gap sizes with different concentrations of isopropanol alcohol(IPA).A waveguide gap size of 300 jim gives the highest in crease in the transmitted optical power of 65%when tested with 10μL(500ppm)concentration of IPA.Compared with all other gaps,it also displays faster response time(/=5seconds)fbr the optical power to change right after depositing IPA in the chamber.The measured limit of detection(LOD)achieved fbr 300μm is 0.366 yL.In addition,the fabricated waveguide gap of 300μm successfully demonstrates the sen sing limit of IPA concentration below 400μpm which is considered as an exposure limit by"National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health".All the mechanical mount and the alignments are done by 3D printing fused deposition method(FDM).

A 3D-printed microfluidic gradient concentration chip for rapid antibiotic-susceptibility testing

The rise of antibiotic resistance as one of the most serious global public health threats has necessitated the timely clinical diagnosis and precise treatment of deadly bacterial infections.To identify which types and doses of antibiotics remain effective for fighting against multi-drug-resistant pathogens,the development of rapid and accurate antibiotic-susceptibility testing(AST)is of primary importance.Conventional methods for AST in well-plate formats with disk diffusion or broth dilution are both labor-intensive and operationally tedious.The microfluidic chip provides a versatile tool for evaluating bacterial AST and resistant behaviors.In this paper,we develop an operationally simple,3D-printed microfluidic chip for AST which automatically deploys antibiotic concentration gradients and fluorescence intensity-based reporting to ideally reduce the report time for AST to within 5 h.By harnessing a commercially available,digital light processing(DLP)3D printing method that offers a rapid,high-precision microfluidic chip-manufacturing capability,we design and realize the accurate generation of on-chip antibiotic concentration gradients based on flow resistance and diffusion mechanisms.We further demonstrate the employment of the microfluidic chip for the AST of E.coli to representative clinical antibiotics of three classes:ampicillin,chloramphenicol,and kanamycin.The determined minimum inhibitory concentration values are comparable to those reported by conventional well-plate methods.Our proposed method demonstrates a promising approach for realizing robust,convenient,and automatable AST of clinical bacterial pathogens.

Multi-Material magnetic field-assisted additive manufacturing system for flexible actuators with programmable magnetic arrangements

Manufacturing flexible magnetic-driven actuators with complex structures and magnetic arrangements to achieve diverse functionalities is becoming a popular trend.Among various manufacturing technologies,magnetic-assisted digital light processing(DLP)stands out because it enables precise manufacturing of macro-scale structures and micro-scale distributions with the assistance of an external magnetic field.Current research on manufacturing magnetic flexible actuators mostly employs single materials,which limits the magnetic driving performance to some extent.Based on these characterizations,we propose a multi-material magnetic field-assisted DLP technology to produce flexible actuators with an accuracy of 200μm.The flexible actuators are printed using two materials with different mechanical and magnetic properties.Considering the interface connectivity of multi-material printing,the effect of interfaces on mechanical properties is also explored.Experimental results indicate good chemical affinity between the two materials we selected.The overlap or connection length of the interface moderately improves the tensile strength of multi-material structures.In addition,we investigate the influence of the volume fraction of the magnetic part on deformation.Simulation and experimental results indicate that increasing the volume ratio(20%to 50%)of the magnetic structure can enhance the responsiveness of the actuator(more than 50%).Finally,we successfully manufacture two multi-material flexible actuators with specific magnetic arrangements:a multi-legged crawling robot and a flexible gripper capable of crawling and grasping actions.These results confirm that this method will pave the way for further research on the precise fabrication of magnetic flexible actuators with diverse functionalities.

Mechanically strong porous bioceramic tubes facilitate large segmental bone defect repair by providing long-term structurally stability and promoting osteogenesis

Mechanically strong magnesium-doped Ca-silicate bioceramic scaffolds have many advantages in repairing large segmental bone defects.Herein we combine β-TCP with 6 mol%magnesium-doped calcium silicate(Mg6)at three different ratios(TCP,TCP+15%Mg6,TCP+85%Mg6)to find an appropriate ratio which can exert considerable influence on bone regeneration.In this study,the bioceramic scaffolds were assessed for mechanical strength,bioactive ion release,biocompatibility,and osteogenic capacity through in vitro testing.Additionally,the potential for promoting bone regeneration was investigated through in vivo implantation of porous tube-like scaffolds.The results showed that the compressive strength increased with the augmentation of Mg6 component.Especially the compressive strength of the TCP+85%Mg6 group reached 38.1±3.8 MPa,three times that of the other two groups.Furthermore,extensive in vivo investigations revealed that the TCP+85%Mg6 bioceramic scaffolds were particularly beneficial for the osteogenic capacity of critical-sized femoral defects(20 mm in length).Altogether,magnesium doping in bioceramic implants is a promising strategy to provide stronger mechanical support and enhance osteogenesis to accelerate the repair of large defects.

Additive Manufacturing of Liquid-Cooled Ceramic Heat Sinks:An Experimental and Numerical Study

With recent advances in power electronic packaging technologies,liquid-cooled ceramic heat sinks have been considered as a promising solution for further improving the performance of power electronic devices.In this study,several aluminum oxide heat sinks were fabricated and tested using the digital light processing-based ad-ditive manufacturing method,to verify their practical performance.The results showed that the complex cooling structures inside the heat sinks can be completely formed and exhibited high surface quality.The experimental thermal and hydraulic performances of the heat sinks were consistent with the numerically modeled predictions.Furthermore,by exploiting the advantages of additive manufacturing,a direct manifold microchannel(MMC)configuration was designed to reduce the vertical flow of the traditional MMC configuration and achieve an im-proved cooling efficiency.At a constant volumetric flow rate of 1 L/min,the direct MMC configuration achieved a 19.8%reduction in pressure drop and an 11.8%reduction in thermal resistance,as well as a more uniform temperature distribution.

Fabrication of electrical semi-conductive SiCN ceramics by vat photopolymerization

The emergence of additive manufacturing(AM)enables ceramics to be fabricated with customized geometry,and polymer-derived ceramics(PDCs)has attracted growing attention owing to their irreplaceable advantages.The combination of 3D printing and PDCs endows the resultant ceramics with both precision and performance.However,AM of ceramics from preceramic polymers is still challenging,and insufficient investigation of functionality also limits the versatility of precursor and its derived ceramics.Herein,we propose a novel paradigm for 3D printing dense silicon carbonitride ceramic and study its electrical semiconducting properties.The formulated photosensitive precursor inks could achieve self-polymerization and cross-linking under the radiation of UV light(405 nm).The green body with intricate structures is fabricated by digital light processing(DLP).Lightweight(1.79-2.08 g cm^(-3))and low porosity(<5%)amorphous ceramics were obtained after thermal treatments.Processes of cross-linking,decomposition,and ceramization are monitored and analyzed.Furthermore,the semi-conducting behaviors of resultant ceramics are identified where the conductivity(10^(-5)-10^(-1)S m^(-1))has a monotonic correspondence with the testing temperatures(25-1000℃).The numerical relationship is fitted by exponential functions,and its conducting mechanism could be interpreted by the band tail hopping(BTH)model.This work could provide alternative solutions for the fabrication of PDCs and potentials for sensing applications.

3D-printed strontium-incorporatedβ-TCP bioceramic triply periodic minimal surface scaffolds with simultaneous high porosity,enhanced strength,and excellent bioactivity

In bone tissue engineering,scaffolds with excellent mechanical and bioactive properties play prominent roles in space maintaining and bone regeneration,attracting increasingly interests in clinical practice.In this study,strontium-incorporatedβ-tricalcium phosphate(β-TCP),named Sr-TCP,bioceramic triply periodic minimal surface(TPMS)structured scaffolds were successfully fabricated by digital light processing(DLP)-based 3D printing technique,achieving high porosity,enhanced strength,and excellent bioactivity.The Sr-TCP scaffolds were first characterized by element distribution,macrostructure and microstructure,and mechanical properties.Notably,the compressive strength of the scaffolds reached 1.44 MPa with porosity of 80%,bringing a great mechanical breakthrough to porous scaffolds.Furthermore,the Sr-TCP scaffolds also facilitated osteogenic differentiation of mouse osteoblastic cell line(MC3T3-E1)cells in both gene and protein aspects,verified by alkaline phosphatase(ALP)activity and polymerase chain reaction(PCR)assays.Overall,the 3D-printed Sr-TCP bioceramic TPMS structured scaffolds obtained high porosity,boosted strength,and superior bioactivity at the same time,serving as a promising approach for bone regeneration.

Integrated 3D bioprinting-based geometry-control strategy for fabricating corneal substitutes

Background:The shortage of donor corneas is a severe global issue,and hence the development of corneal alternatives is imperative and urgent.Although attempts to produce artificial cornea substitutes by tissue engineering have made some positive progress,many problems remain that hamper their clinical application worldwide.For example,the curvature of tissue-engineered cornea substitutes cannot be designed to fit the bulbus oculi of patients.Objective:To overcome these limitations,in this paper,we present a novel integrated three-dimensional(3 D) bioprintingbased cornea substitute fabrication strategy to realize design,customized fabrication,and evaluation of multi-layer hollow structures with complicated surfaces.Methods:The key rationale for this method is to combine digital light processing(DLP) and extrusion bioprinting into an integrated 3 D cornea bioprinting system.A designable and personalized corneal substitute was designed based on mathematical modelling and a computer tomography scan of a natural cornea.The printed corneal substitute was evaluated based on biomechanical analysis,weight,structural integrity,and fit.Results:The results revealed that the fabrication of high water content and highly transparent curved films with geometric features designed according to the natural human cornea can be achieved using a rapid,simple,and low-cost manufacturing process with a high repetition rate and quality.Conclusions:This study demonstrated the feasibility of customized design,analysis,and fabrication of a corneal substitute.The programmability of this method opens up the possibility of producing substitutes for other cornea-like shell structures with different scale and geometry features,such as the glomerulus,atrium,and oophoron.

3D printing of glass by additive manufacturing techniques:a review

Additive manufacturing(AM),which is also known as three-dimensional(3D)printing,uses computer-aided design to build objects layer by layer.Here,we focus on the recent progress in the development of techniques for 3D printing of glass,an important optoelectronic material,including fused deposition modeling,selective laser sintering/melting,stereolithography(SLA)and direct ink writing.We compare these 3D printing methods and analyze their benefits and problems for the manufacturing of functional glass objects.In addition,we discuss the technological principles of 3D glass printing and applications of 3D printed glass objects.This review is finalized by a summary of the current achievements and perspectives for the future development of the 3D glass printing technique.