Magnetically assisted drop-on-demand 3D printing of microstructured multimaterial composites

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Composite Materials

Background:

• 3D printed composites with aligned fillers exhibit enhanced properties.
• Controlling filler alignment and concentration simultaneously remains a challenge.
• This limits the performance of 3D printed materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel 3D printing technique for aligned microplatelet reinforced composites.
• To achieve simultaneous control over filler alignment and high filler concentration.
• To explore the potential for multimaterial printing and tunable device performance.

Main Methods:

• Development of a magnetically assisted drop-on-demand 3D printing (MDOD) technique.
• Utilizing aqueous slurry inks with microplatelet fillers.
• Applying an external magnetic field during the drop-on-demand printing process.
• Demonstrating multimaterial printing with voxelated control.

Main Results:

• MDOD successfully printed composites with aligned microplatelets at set angles.
• High filler concentrations up to 50 vol% were achieved.
• Demonstrated the printing of multimaterial piezoresistive sensors with tunable properties.
• Showcased enhanced mechanical and functional properties of 3D printed devices.

Conclusions:

• MDOD offers precise control over filler alignment and concentration in 3D printed composites.
• The technique enables the creation of advanced materials for electronic and sensing applications.
• MDOD expands the design space for enhancing 3D printed devices through microstructural control.