Manufacturing system and method for cross-scale structure of soft material

Abstract

The invention discloses a manufacturing system of a soft material cross-scale structure. The manufacturing system comprises an extrusion deposition module, a projection module, a laser etching module, a suspension medium container, a rotary table, a moving module, an optical adjustment module and a control system. Based on embedded extrusion printing, volume printing and laser etching technologies, cross-scale manufacturing of biological soft materials is achieved, manufacturing of a macrostructure (submillimeter level) is achieved through pre-deposition and one-time volume curing of various soft materials, and manufacturing of a microstructure (micron level) is achieved through fixed-point etching of the soft materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of biomanufacturing technology, and in particular relates to a manufacturing system and method for a cross-scale structure of a soft material. Background Art

[0002] Bio-3D printing technology mixes native units in organisms such as cells and growth factors with biomaterials (hydrogels, etc.) and arranges them in a customized manner based on factors such as bionics and cell microenvironment to construct a manufacturing method for biological functional structures. When using bio-3D printing technology to construct biomimetic structures, it is necessary to simulate the macroscopic structures (forked blood vessels, intestinal folds, etc.) and microscopic structures (capillaries, small intestinal villi, etc.) in the organism as much as possible to fully restore the living environment of cells in the body and improve the structural simulation. At present, embedded extrusion bio-3D printing is one of the commonly used printing processes. The yield stress of the suspended medium in its manufacturing process can provide support for the structure, so this method can be used for bio-3D printing of low-rigidity bio-ink or unsupported structures. Volumetric printing, as a new type of bio-3D printing technology, projects a three-dimensional pattern containing model slice information and adjusts the light dose distribution to quickly polymerize the printed matrix, which can overcome the geometric limitations of layer-by-layer stacking of traditional 3D printing technology and avoid the stratification effect. However, the bio-ink used in volumetric printing must be placed in the forming cavity in advance, so it is difficult to accurately control the spatial distribution of different materials when manufacturing multi-material parts.

[0003] In addition, the molding accuracy of the above 3D printing process is limited by the extrusion wire diameter and the projection light resolution, making it difficult to systematically construct cross-scale macro-micro structures while taking into account manufacturing efficiency. At present, a common solution is to use porous soft materials for cell-containing printing and induce the generation of microvascular structures, but the microstructures constructed by this solution are disordered and cannot be customized, which limits the functionality of the constructed model. Summary of the invention

[0004] The content of this application is used to introduce concepts in a brief form, which will be described in detail in the detailed implementation section below. The content of this application is not intended to identify the key features or essential features of the technical solution claimed for protection, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the technical solution claimed for protection.

[0005] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a system and method for manufacturing a cross-scale structure of soft materials.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme: a manufacturing system of a cross-scale structure of a soft material, comprising: an extrusion deposition module, comprising a plurality of nozzles; a moving module, used to load the extrusion deposition module and capable of driving the extrusion deposition module to move in three-dimensional space; a suspension medium container, located below the extrusion deposition module and used to load the suspension medium; a projection module, used to project pattern light containing model slice information to the suspension medium container, and provide curing energy and information for the printing substrate; a laser etching module, emitting laser and etching the workpiece in the suspension medium container to construct a microstructure; a turntable, used to carry the suspension medium container and capable of driving the suspension medium container to rotate 360 ​​degrees; an optical adjustment module, arranged between the projection module and the suspension medium container, used to adjust the optical path, projection format size, geometric aberration, and resolution optical parameters of the pattern light projected by the projection module; a control system, used to coordinate and control the spatial movement, process timing, and parameter design of the extrusion deposition module, the projection module, and the laser etching module; the laser etching module is located on the moving module and moves with the moving module.

[0007] Furthermore, the number of nozzles is greater than or equal to two, the nozzles are filled with biological soft materials, and the tops of the nozzles are connected to air pipes.

[0008] Furthermore, the spatial movement speed range of the nozzle is 1-30 mm / s, and the needle of the nozzle is a capillary or an ordinary needle, and its outer diameter is 0.1 mm-1 mm.

[0009] Furthermore, the biological soft material includes silk fibroin, collagen, methacrylated gelatin bio-ink or hydrogel with photosensitive properties.

[0010] Furthermore, the optical adjustment module includes optical characteristic components and optical elements, and the transmittance of the optical adjustment module in the projection light wavelength band is greater than or equal to 90%; the optical parameters of the optical adjustment module are consistent with the optical parameters of the printing ink and the suspension medium container, and can convert the projection light emitted by the projection module into parallel light or nearly parallel light, which is incident on the suspension medium container to achieve the solidification of the biological soft material.

[0011] Furthermore, the suspension medium container is an equal-curvature cylindrical light-transmitting container, and has a light transmittance greater than or equal to 90% in the projection wavelength band of the projection light.

[0012] Further, the suspending medium includes a mixture of carbomer or poloxamer 127 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.

[0013] Furthermore, the moving module includes a plurality of guide rails and a plurality of linear motors, and the plurality of guide rails in different directions are perpendicular to each other in space.

[0014] As another aspect of the present application, the present application also discloses a method for manufacturing a soft material cross-scale structure using the manufacturing system of the soft material cross-scale structure as described above, comprising the following steps:

[0015] Step 1: Design the structure according to the required performance, model the designed structure through 3D software, slice the 3D model to be printed and generate a printing path file, optimize the slice data based on tomography technology, convert it into image data, and load it into the control module;

[0016] Step 2: Configure the number of nozzles according to the type of material required, adjust the air pressure so that the nozzle can stably extrude the bio-soft material, adjust the moving device so that one nozzle descends and sinks into the suspension medium, and the nozzle extrude the bio-soft material while moving in the suspension medium, and the extruded bio-soft material forms filaments as the nozzle moves;

[0017] Step 3: When the designed structure contains multiple materials, the extrusion nozzle is switched by moving the module during the printing process, so that the original nozzle returns to the initial point, and the new nozzle extrude new materials to continue printing;

[0018] Step 4: After printing a layer of structure, the nozzle is lifted according to the printing layer height, and the above steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the pre-printing work is completed;

[0019] Step 5: Adjust the projection module to output an image sequence according to the information of the designed three-dimensional model to form a three-dimensional pattern light, wherein the light intensity of the projection module is between 500mW / cm2 and 2000mW / cm2, and adjust the optical adjustment module to convert the adjusted projection light into parallel light or nearly parallel light;

[0020] Step 6: Start the turntable and adjust the projection module according to the turntable speed so that the preloaded image sequence is projected into the molding cavity according to the turntable speed, wherein the pre-deposited biological soft material is irradiated by the gradually accumulated three-dimensional area and solidified. After the three-dimensional model is solidified, the turntable is stopped and the projection module is turned off;

[0021] Step 7: Start the laser etching module, design the structure according to the model, adjust the angle through the turntable, move the laser emitter to align with the small-size structure, start laser etching to produce customized structures, until all structures are manufactured. Preferably, the laser power is 5 to 50W, and the etching speed is 20 to 80mm / s;

[0022] Step 8: Clean and recycle the uncured biological soft material, take out the printed part, and perform post-processing to make the printed part reach the required shape index.

[0023] The present invention is beneficial in that:

[0024] 1. The present invention realizes cross-scale manufacturing of biological soft materials based on embedded extrusion printing, volume printing and laser etching technology. The manufacturing of macroscopic structures (submillimeter level) is realized by pre-deposition and one-time volume solidification of multiple soft materials, and the manufacturing of microscopic structures (micrometer level) is realized by fixed-point etching of soft materials.

[0025] 2. The present invention can realize the integrated preparation of various soft material structures by utilizing embedded multi-material extrusion printing technology and volume printing technology, thus avoiding the influence of stratification effect.

[0026] 3. The present invention has rich applicability. By changing the components of the photosensitive biological soft material and the components of the suspension medium, the local mechanical properties of the prepared component can be specialized, and it can be further widely used in the construction of biological tissue gradient environments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The drawings constituting a part of this application are used to provide a further understanding of this application, so that other features, purposes and advantages of this application become more obvious. The illustrative embodiment drawings and their descriptions of this application are used to explain this application and do not constitute an improper limitation on this application.

[0028] In addition, throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements. It should be understood that the drawings are schematic and that the components and elements are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0029] In the attached picture:

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the printing process of a system and method for manufacturing a cross-scale structure of soft materials according to the present invention.

[0031] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of the printing process of a method for manufacturing a cross-scale structure of soft materials according to the present invention.

[0032] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a manufacturing system device for a soft material cross-scale structure of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 4 This is a front view of a component printed with a macro-microstructure according to the present invention.

[0034] Figure 5 The cross-sectional view at AA of a component having a macro-microstructure printed according to the present invention.

[0035] Figure 6 Cross-sectional view at CC of a component having macro-microstructures printed according to the present invention.

[0036] Figure 7 Isometric view of a component with macro-microstructure printed for the present invention.

[0037] The meanings of the reference numerals in the figures are as follows: DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are only for exemplary purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0039] It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts related to the invention are shown in the drawings. In the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be combined with each other.

[0040] It should be noted that the concepts such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different devices, modules or units, and are not used to limit the order or interdependence of the functions performed by these devices, modules or units.

[0041] It should be noted that the modifications of "one" and "plurality" mentioned in the present disclosure are illustrative rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art should understand that unless otherwise clearly indicated in the context, it should be understood as "one or more".

[0042] The names of the messages or information exchanged between multiple devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used for illustrative purposes and are not used to limit the scope of these messages or information.

[0043] The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with embodiments.

[0044] like Figure 3 As shown, a manufacturing system of a soft material cross-scale structure comprises:

[0045] Optical adjustment module 1: It is composed of components or optical elements with optical characteristics, located between the projection module 10 and the suspension medium container 2, and is used to adjust the optical path, projection format, geometric aberration, and resolution optical parameters of the pattern light projected by the projection module 10;

[0046] Suspended medium container 2: It is a cylindrical light-transmitting container with equal curvature, and should have a light transmittance greater than or equal to 90% in the projection wavelength band of the projection light, in which the suspended medium is filled, and the pre-deposited materials and the components to be deposited are carried;

[0047] Extrusion deposition module 4: It is fixedly connected to the corresponding moving module 3, and comprises a plurality of nozzles 5 of the same structure. Different soft materials are filled in the nozzles 5, and the required materials can be extruded according to the model and deposited in the suspension medium container 2 to realize the pre-deposition of the component. Among them, the biological soft material refers to a viscoelastic material with an elastic modulus of less than 5kPa. The preferred biological soft materials of this system are: hydrogels with photosensitive properties such as silk fibroin, collagen, and methacryloyl gelatin bio-ink;

[0048] Laser etching module 8: It is fixedly connected to the corresponding mobile module 7, contains a laser generator, and etches the micrometer-scale material by emitting femtosecond laser to construct a customized microstructure;

[0049] Turntable 9: It is used to carry the suspension medium container 2 and can rotate 360 ​​degrees to ensure that the curing energy and information are evenly transmitted to the printing substrate from all sides;

[0050] Projection module 10: It can project three-dimensional pattern light containing model slice information to the suspension medium container 2 and adjust the light dose distribution, provide curing energy and information for the printing substrate, and thus realize rapid prototyping of soft materials;

[0051] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, as another aspect of the present application, the present application also discloses a method for manufacturing a soft material cross-scale structure using the above-mentioned soft material cross-scale structure manufacturing system, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0052] Step 1: Design the structure according to the required performance, model the designed structure through 3D software, slice the 3D model to be printed and generate a printing path file, optimize the slice data based on tomography technology, convert it into image data, and load it into the control system;

[0053] Step 2: configure the number of nozzles 5 according to the type of material required, adjust the air pressure so that the nozzles can stably extrude the biological soft material, adjust the moving device 3 so that one nozzle 5 is lowered and immersed in the suspension medium, and the nozzle 5 extrude the biological soft material while moving in the suspension medium, and the extruded biological soft material forms filaments as the nozzle 5 moves;

[0054] Step 3: When the designed structure contains multiple materials, the extrusion nozzle 5 is switched by moving the module 3 during the printing process, so that the original nozzle 5 returns to the initial point, and the new nozzle 5 extrude new materials to continue printing;

[0055] Step 4: After printing a layer of structure, the nozzle 5 is lifted according to the printing layer height, and the above steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the pre-printing work is completed;

[0056] Step 5: Adjust the projection module 10 to output an image sequence according to the information of the designed three-dimensional model to form a three-dimensional pattern light, wherein the light intensity of the projection module 10 is between 500mW / cm2 and 2000mW / cm2, and adjust the optical adjustment module 1 to convert the adjusted projection light into parallel light or near-parallel light.

[0057] Step 6: Start the turntable 9 and adjust the projection module 10 according to the rotation speed of the turntable so that the preloaded image sequence is projected into the molding cavity according to the rotation speed of the turntable 9, wherein the pre-deposited biological soft material is irradiated by the gradually accumulated three-dimensional area and solidified. After the three-dimensional model is solidified, the turntable is stopped and the projection module is turned off;

[0058] Step 7: Start the laser etching module 8, adjust the angle through the turntable 9 according to the model design structure, move the laser emitter to align with the small-size structure position, start laser etching to produce customized structures, until all structures are manufactured. Preferably, the laser power is 5 to 50W, and the etching speed is 20 to 80mm / s;

[0059] Step 8: Clean and recycle the uncured biological soft material, take out the printed part, and perform post-processing to make the printed part reach the required shape index.

[0060] In summary, by systematically adjusting the degree of coordination between multiple steps in the manufacturing process, efficient manufacturing of components with multiple materials and cross-scale macro and micro structures can be achieved. By adjusting parameters such as the nozzle movement speed, the mechanical properties of the soft material, the projection light intensity, and the laser power during the printing process, the size, density, scale span, and forming rate of the printed structure can be adjusted. Therefore, the system and method can realize cross-scale manufacturing of complex heterogeneous structures.

[0061] like Figure 4-7 As shown, it is an embodiment of the manufacturing method proposed by the present invention, which is a multi-material double-layer hollow straight tube, and its inner layer has a microscopic pore structure (micrometer level). The manufacturing system and method proposed by the present invention can accurately realize the manufacturing of this embodiment. The present invention is further described below through this embodiment.

[0062] Establish a three-dimensional model file of the part to be printed, analyze its structural features, and create a path planning file for the required pre-deposition material. According to the analysis, the pre-deposition materials required in this embodiment are two types, with macroscopic (centimeter-level) and microscopic (central micron-level pore) cross-scale structures; the number of printed structural layers of the structural layer 11 is 5, and the number of printed structural layers of the structural layer 12 is 5, and pre-deposition slices are made for the structural layer model; analyze the macroscopic structural features of the part to be printed, optimize the slice data based on tomography technology, organize and convert it into image data, generate pattern light corresponding to the three-dimensional model file, and load it into the control system; prepare a suspension medium, prepare poloxamer 127 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose at 60°C in a ratio of 5:2 to form a suspension, cool it to room temperature, and transfer it to a suspension medium container for standby use; fill the biological soft material collagen and 5% mass fraction of methacryloyl gelatin gel corresponding to the structural layer 11 and the structural layer 12 into the nozzle respectively, and prepare for printing; according to the pre-deposition path planning, adjust the printing pressure to about 1.5ba at room temperature r, so that the two biological soft materials are stably extruded into filaments through the nozzle, and the filament size matches the slice parameter layer height, which is 200μm by default and the aspect ratio of the filament is 1; adjust the moving module, set the nozzle moving speed to 10mm / s, and make a nozzle descend into the suspension medium container. The nozzle extrude the biological soft material while moving in the suspension medium, and the extruded biological soft material forms filaments as the nozzle moves. When one material is printed, the extrusion nozzle is switched by the moving module, the original nozzle returns to the origin, and the new nozzle replaces the original nozzle position to extrude new materials and continue printing. The printing order of each layer is from the inside to the outside, first the middle and then the periphery. After printing a layer of structure, the nozzle is lifted according to the printing layer height, and the above steps are repeated until the pre-printing work is completed; adjust the projection module to output an image sequence according to the information of the designed three-dimensional model to form a three-dimensional pattern light, wherein the light intensity of the projection module is 1000mW / cm2, and the optical adjustment module is slowly adjusted until the adjusted projection light is converted into parallel light or nearly parallel light. Start the turntable and adjust the projection module according to the turntable speed so that the preloaded image sequence is projected into the molding cavity, where the pre-deposited biological soft material is irradiated by the gradually accumulated three-dimensional area and solidified until the three-dimensional model is solidified. Then stop the turntable and turn off the projection module, and a multi-material tubular part with a macroscopic structure is obtained; start the laser etching module, adjust the angle through the turntable according to the model design structure, move the laser emitter to align with the small-size structure position, and start laser etching to produce a customized structure until all structures are manufactured. Preferably, the initial laser power is set to 30W and the etching speed is set to 20mm / s, and a multi-material part with a macro-micro cross-scale structure is obtained; clean and recover the uncured biological soft material, take out the print, and perform post-processing to make the print meet the required shape index.

[0063] The above descriptions are only some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and an explanation of the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the technical solutions formed by a specific combination of the above-mentioned technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above-mentioned technical features or their equivalent features without departing from the above-mentioned inventive concept. For example, the above-mentioned features are replaced with the technical features with similar functions disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure (but not limited to) and the technical solutions formed.

Claims

1. A manufacturing system for a cross-scale structure of soft materials, characterized by: include: An extrusion deposition module, including a plurality of nozzles; A moving module, used for loading the extrusion deposition module and capable of driving the extrusion deposition module to move in three-dimensional space; A suspension medium container, located below the extrusion deposition module and used for filling the suspension medium; A projection module, used for projecting pattern light containing model slice information to the suspension medium container, providing curing energy and information for the printing substrate; A laser etching module, emitting laser and etching the workpiece in the suspension medium container to construct a microstructure; A turntable, used to carry the suspension medium container and to drive the suspension medium container to rotate 360 ​​degrees; An optical adjustment module is provided between the projection module and the suspension medium container, and is used to adjust the optical path, projection format, geometric aberration, and resolution optical parameters of the pattern light projected by the projection module; Control system, used to coordinate and control the spatial movement, process timing and parameter design of the extrusion deposition module, projection module and laser etching module; The laser etching module is located on the moving module and moves together with the moving module.

2. The manufacturing system of soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the nozzles is greater than or equal to two, the nozzles are filled with biological soft materials, and the tops of the nozzles are connected to air pipes.

3. The manufacturing system of the soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The spatial movement speed range of the nozzle is 1-30 mm / s, and the needle of the nozzle is a capillary or a common needle, and its outer diameter is 0.1 mm-1 mm.

4. The manufacturing system of the soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The biological soft material includes silk fibroin, collagen, methacrylated gelatin biological ink or hydrogel with photosensitive properties.

5. The manufacturing system of soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical adjustment module includes optical characteristic components and optical elements. The transmittance of the optical adjustment module in the projection light wavelength band is greater than or equal to 90%. The optical parameters of the optical adjustment module match the optical parameters of the printing ink and the suspension medium container, and the projection light emitted by the projection module can be converted into parallel light or nearly parallel light, which is incident on the suspension medium container to achieve the solidification of the biological soft material.

6. The manufacturing system of soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The suspension medium container is an equal-curvature columnar light-transmitting container, and has a light transmittance greater than or equal to 90% in the projection wavelength band of the projection light.

7. The manufacturing system of soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The suspending medium includes a mixture of carbomer or poloxamer 127 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.

8. The manufacturing system of soft material cross-scale structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving module includes a plurality of guide rails and a plurality of linear motors, and the guide rails in different directions are perpendicular to each other in space.

9. A method for manufacturing a soft material cross-scale structure using the manufacturing system for a soft material cross-scale structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Design the structure according to the required performance, model the designed structure through 3D software, slice the 3D model to be printed and generate a printing path file, optimize the slice data based on tomography technology, convert it into image data, and load it into the control module; Step 2: configuring the number of nozzles according to the type of material required, adjusting the air pressure so that the nozzles can stably extrude the bio-soft material, adjusting the moving device so that one nozzle descends and sinks into the suspension medium, and the nozzle extrude the bio-soft material while moving in the suspension medium, and the extruded bio-soft material forms filaments as the nozzles move; Step 3: When the designed structure contains multiple materials, the extrusion nozzle is switched by moving the module during the printing process, so that the original nozzle returns to the initial point, and the new nozzle extrude new materials to continue printing; Step 4: After printing a layer of structure, the nozzle is lifted according to the printing layer height, and the above steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the pre-printing work is completed; Step 5: Adjust the projection module to output an image sequence according to the information of the designed three-dimensional model to form a three-dimensional pattern light, wherein the light intensity of the projection module is between 500mW / cm2 and 2000mW / cm2, and adjust the optical adjustment module to convert the adjusted projection light into parallel light or nearly parallel light; Step 6: Start the turntable and adjust the projection module according to the turntable speed so that the preloaded image sequence is projected into the molding cavity according to the turntable speed, wherein the pre-deposited biological soft material is irradiated by the gradually accumulated three-dimensional area and solidified. After the three-dimensional model is solidified, the turntable is stopped and the projection module is turned off; Step 7: Start the laser etching module, design the structure according to the model, adjust the angle through the turntable, move the laser emitter to align with the small-size structure, start laser etching to produce customized structures, until all structures are manufactured. Preferably, the laser power is 5 to 50W, and the etching speed is 20 to 80mm / s; Step 8: Clean and recycle the uncured biological soft material, take out the printed part, and perform post-processing to make the printed part reach the required shape index.

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