AMS

Nanyang Technological University: Experimenting with Acoustic Nozzles to Disrupt Clogging in 3D Printing

ST Dentistry

Share this Article

Thesis student, Yannapol Sriphutkiat, of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University recently published, ‘Development of acoustic nozzle for 3D printing,’ exploring the use of acoustic vibrations to solve one of the most common problems: clogging.

As with so many innovations and improvements allowed through 3D printing, it all makes perfect sense—using acoustics to manipulate microparticles and prevent clogging. For this study, Sriphutkiat researched the use of standing surface acoustic waves (SSAWs) in microchannels to reduce the issue.

Proper alignment of printing materials in the nozzle and elimination of clogging leads to a better outcome not only for 3D printing overall, but especially in bioprinting practices as it limits cell density in the material. While there are numerous challenges in bioprinting, clogging is one that still confounds and thwarts researchers:

“Suspensions are likely to sediment and aggregate in the cell reservoir, tube and nozzle of the printing system, the sedimentation reduces the width of the flow path which may also lead to clogging within the narrow geometry of the inkjet nozzle. The clogging could significantly increase the normal stress and shear stress applied to the cells, which may decrease the cell viability and proliferation rate, and decrease formation of nonuniform droplet sizes of bioink,” stated the researchers.

The schematic of clogging mechanism

Although clogging continues to be a mystery in many ways, in this study, researchers are optimistic about the use of vibration as a solution for both stability in production and reduction of clogging too. The overall idea of such a technique is to ‘disturb the clogging behavior,’ which often seems to occur around the entrance of the pore throats, and then completely blocking or bridging the area.

“SSAWs move microparticles away from the wall, towards the center of the microchannel, and therefore, reduce the chance of microparticle accumulation/clogging,” stated the researchers, who employed dual-frequency excitation for the SSAWs, for better control.

The acoustic nozzle caused cells to accumulate toward the center of a cylindrical tube in the lab, allowing for success in 3D printing, with tuning of SSAWs decreasing the width of accumulated microparticles.

Schematic diagram of SSAW consisting of (a) PDMS-LiNbO3 and (b) superstrateLiNbO3

“In comparison to the conventional printing strategy, acoustic excitation could significantly reduce the width of accumulated microparticles in the printed structure (p < 0.05). In addition, the microparticle motion excited at higher harmonics (385 kHz and 657 kHz) was also studied,” stated the researchers.

The study continued successfully with bioprinting as the researchers observed C2C12 cells being controlled by the acoustics. Once printed, they were studied for a week. The cells exposed to acoustic excitation accumulated near the center of the nozzle, while cells from the control group were scattered. Acoustically manipulated cells also showed more ‘significant dense cell structure,’ while the control group cells were still more chaotic.

“Overall, the acoustic approach is able to accumulate microparticles/cells in the printed construct at a low cost, simple configuration, and low power, but high biocompatibility,” concluded the researchers. “In the future, acoustic patterning of various biological cell types in printed construct could be investigated. As acoustic method has a capability to manipulate the microparticle/biological cells depending on their physical properties (compressibility, density and size).

Sound has played a role in numerous 3D printing techniques, from the development of acoustic metamaterials to implanting items with sound data, or even 3D printed symphonies. Find out more about how innovations such as acoustic nozzles can improve the 3D printing process here. What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

Schematic diagram of experimental setup.

[Source / Images: Development of acoustic nozzle for 3D printing]

Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing News Unpeeled: Glass and Multi Material SLA

Solidscape Releases Sub-$15,000 Wax 3D Printer: the Muse



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Dental 3D Market Grew to $4B in 2022

SmarTech Analysis, the leading 3D printing market research firm and the sibling firm of 3DPrint.com, has released the latest iteration of one of its flagship reports, 3D Printing in Dentistry...

UltiMaker CEO Weighs in on the Release of the Method XL 3D Printer

Today, UltiMaker announced the release of the Method XL 3D printer. The XL features a 100°C heated chamber and heated build plate optimized for ABS and carbon fiber (CF) -ABS....

3D Printing News Briefs, May 17, 2023: Stress-Resistant Alloy, 3D Printed Trophies, & More

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting off with a little research, as materials scientists developed a 3D printing process that produces an extremely stress-resistant alloy. Moving on to...

3D Printing News Briefs, May 13, 2023: RAPID Roundup Part 2

For the second time this week, 3D Printing News Briefs is focused on news stories about RAPID + TCT! From new hires and 3D printer integrations to new 3D printers,...