(Invited) Material Development and Equipment Improvement for 3D Gel Printing Using a Commercially-Available Stereolithography Printer. (8th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sato, Yosuke; Saito, Azusa; Watanabe, Yosuke; Shiblee, MD Nahin Islam; Ogawa, Jun; Khosla, Ajit; Kawakami, Masaru; Furukawa, Hidemitsu
• Is Part Of: ECS transactions. Volume 98:Number 13(2020)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 100
• Publication Date: 2020-09-08
• Subjects: Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry; Periodicals; Electronic journals; Electronic journal; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1149/09813.0093ecst
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1938-5862

Abstract

Abstract : World's first 3D gel printer "SWIM-ER" was developed at Yamagata University by Prof. Hidemitsu Furukawa. SWIM-ER can print complicated 3D shapes of hydrogel, which are impossible to achieve by traditional gel manufacturing methods. Therefore, using SWIM-ER we can print gels that can be used in soft robotics, education and medical technology. However, SWIM-ER being an expensive instrument, it's availability to general users is limited. In work we have modified a commercial low cost LCD stereolithography 3D printer that enables 3D gel printing. The target commercial 3D printer price is around $500. Results indicate, in order to realize gel printing with a commercially available printer, it is necessary to compose a gel with right formulation of an initiator and an absorber that cause a gelation reaction with ultraviolet rays of 405 nm. We were successfully able to 3D print Inter-Cross-linking Network (ICN) gel using the modified printer.