Electrowetting on Dielectric (EWOD) Based Portable Multimaterial Printer To Fabricate Origami Devices

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Robotics

Background:

• Origami devices offer versatile applications in space exploration, medicine, and agriculture.
• Current fabrication methods for origami devices are complex, hindering on-demand and on-site production.
• A need exists for compact, portable fabrication systems for customized origami electronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, multimaterial printer for fabricating origami electronic devices.
• To utilize electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) for driving conductive and insulating liquids on paper.
• To demonstrate the system's capability for rapid, on-site fabrication of functional origami devices.

Main Methods:

• Development of a palm-sized, portable printer employing EWOD technology.
• Printing of conductive and insulating solutions onto paper substrates.
• Investigation and optimization of electrical input, channel, and electrode designs for liquid control.
• Fabrication and testing of origami stretchable strain and breath sensors.

Main Results:

• Successful driving of both insulating and conductive liquids using the EWOD printer.
• Demonstrated high printing performance and precision for complex origami structures.
• Fabrication of functional origami sensors (stretchable strain sensor, breath sensor) with verified durability.
• Development of a portable control circuit for generating necessary electrical signals.

Conclusions:

• The developed portable EWOD printer enables convenient, location-independent fabrication of 3D origami devices.
• This technology significantly overcomes the limitations of conventional inkjet printers in terms of portability and on-demand production.
• The system has the potential to accelerate the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices through accessible fabrication of custom sensors and electronics.