Filament-Based Melt Electrowriting Enables Dual-Mode Additive Manufacturing for Multiscale Constructs

Area of Science:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Biofabrication
• Materials Science

Background:

• Melt electrowriting (MEW) is a laboratory-scale technique for 3D microarchitecture fabrication.
• Current MEW limitations include specialized equipment and restricted material compatibility, hindering broader adoption.
• Technological advancement in MEW is constrained by its limited accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a filament-based melt electrowriting (F-MEW) approach.
• Integrate MEW technology with existing fused filament fabrication (FFF) systems.
• Expand the accessibility and material range for microfiber fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Developed a filament-based melt electrowriting (F-MEW) system by upgrading fused filament fabrication (FFF) equipment.
• Utilized polymer filaments as feedstock, melting them on demand for extrusion.
• Validated F-MEW with polycaprolactone (PCL) and demonstrated with polydioxanone (PDO).
• Hybridized FFF and F-MEW in a dual-mode additive manufacturing process.

Main Results:

• Successfully enabled melt electrowriting of polymer microfibers using upgraded FFF systems.
• Demonstrated the fabrication of multiscale constructs combining FFF struts and F-MEW microfibers.
• Achieved microfibers one order of magnitude smaller than FFF struts.

Conclusions:

• The F-MEW approach significantly enhances the accessibility of MEW technology to the broader FFF user community.
• This innovation expands the fabrication capabilities of FFF systems by incorporating high-resolution microfiber printing.
• The hybridization of FFF and F-MEW opens new avenues for creating complex, multiscale constructs.