Fabrication of Different Microchannels by Adjusting the Extrusion Parameters for Sacrificial Molds

Micromachines

Liya Zhu¹  Jianping Shi¹  Jiquan Yang¹  Zongan Li¹  Wenlai Tang¹  Hao Liu¹  Nan Xiang² 

[1] School of Electrical and Automation Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of 3D Printing Equipment and Manufacturing, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China;School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China;

关键词: microfluidics;    microchannel;    3D printing;    fused deposition modelling (FDM);    sacrificial mold;   

DOI  :  10.3390/mi10080544

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Using the 3D printed mold-removal method to fabricate microchannel has become a promising alternative to the conventional soft lithography technique, due to the convenience in printing channel mold and the compatibility with PDMS material. Although having great potential, the use of single filament extruded by fused deposition modeling (FDM) as the sacrificial channel mold has not been elaborately studied. In this paper, we demonstrate the fabrication of microchannels with different structure and size by controllably extruding the sacrificial channel molds. The influences of the main processing parameters including working distance, extrusion amount and printing speed on the printed microchannels are systematically investigated. The results show that, the circular and low-aspect-ratio straight microchannels with different sizes can be fabricated by adjusting the extrusion amounts. The sinusoidal, 3D curved and cross-linked curved microchannels along straight path can be fabricated, either independently or in combination, by the combined control of the working distance, extrusion amount and printing speed. The complex microchannels with different structural features can also be printed along curved serpentine, rectangular serpentine, and spiral paths. This paper presents a simple and powerful method to fabricate the complex microchannels with different structure and size by just controlling the processing parameters for extruding channel molds.

【 授权许可】

Unknown