Multimaterial Multinozzle Adaptive 3D Printing of Soft Materials

Direct ink writing is a facile method that enables biological, structural, and functional materials to be printed in three dimensions (3D). To date, this extrusion-based method has primarily been used to soft materials in a layer-wise manner on planar substrates. However, many emerging applications would benefit from the ability to conformally print materials of varying composition on substrates with arbitrary topography. Here, a high throughput platform based on multimaterial multinozzle adaptive 3D printing (MMA-3DP) that provides independent control of nozzle height and seamless switching between inks is reported. To demonstrate the MMA-3DP platform, conformally pattern viscoelastic inks composed of triblock copolymer, gelatin, and photopolymerizable polyacrylate materials onto complex substrates of varying topography, including those with surface defects that mimic skin abrasions or deep gouges. This platform opens new avenues for rapidly patterning soft materials for structural, functional, and biomedical applications.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a high throughput platform called multimaterial multinozzle adaptive 3D printing (MMA-3DP), which allows for independent control of nozzle height and seamless switching between different inks. The platform is demonstrated by printing viscoelastic inks composed of different materials onto complex substrates with varying topography. This new method opens up new possibilities for rapidly patterning soft materials for structural, functional, and biomedical applications.