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Reizabal A, Devlin BL, Paxton NC, Saiz PG, Liashenko I, Luposchainsky S, Woodruff MA, Lanceros-Mendez S, Dalton PD. Melt Electrowriting of Nylon-12 Microfibers with an Open-Source 3D Printer. Macromol Rapid Commun 2023; 44:e2300424. [PMID: 37821091 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
This study demonstrates how either a heated flat or cylindrical collector enables defect-free melt electrowriting (MEW) of complex geometries from high melting temperature polymers. The open-source "MEWron" printer uses nylon-12 filament and combined with a heated flat or cylindrical collector, produces well-defined fibers with diameters ranging from 33 ± 4 to 95 ± 3 µm. Processing parameters for stable jet formation and minimal defects based on COMSOL thermal modeling for hardware design are optimized. The balance of processing temperature and collector temperature is achieved to achieve auxetic patterns, while showing that annealing nylon-12 tubes significantly alters their mechanical properties. The samples exhibit varied pore sizes and wall thicknesses influenced by jet dynamics and fiber bridging. Tensile testing shows nylon-12 tubes are notably stronger than poly(ε-caprolactone) ones and while annealing has limited impact on tensile strength, yield, and elastic modulus, it dramatically reduces elongation. The equipment described and material used broadens MEW applications for high melting point polymers and highlights the importance of cooling dynamics for reproducible samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ander Reizabal
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
- BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, Leioa, 48940, Spain
| | - Brenna L Devlin
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove, 4059, Australia
| | - Naomi C Paxton
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove, 4059, Australia
| | - Paula G Saiz
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
- Macromolecular Chemistry Research Group (LABQUIMAC), Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, UPV/EHU, Leioa, 48940, Spain
| | - Ievgenii Liashenko
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
| | - Simon Luposchainsky
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
| | - Maria A Woodruff
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove, 4059, Australia
| | - Senentxu Lanceros-Mendez
- BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, Leioa, 48940, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, 48009, Spain
| | - Paul D Dalton
- Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA
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