FRESH Additive Manufacturing Fluid-Fluid Interface Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current additive manufacturing techniques face challenges in achieving high-fidelity printing of complex geometries and supporting fragile materials like collagen, which often result in diffusion and deformation due to mismatched viscosity and yield stress between support and printed materials.
Innovation Solution
The Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) method uses a support material that transitions from a solid to a fluid phase under stress, allowing for precise deposition and gelation of embedded inks like collagen, fibrin, and alginate, with controlled fluid-fluid interactions to manage gelation and create a stable, porous structure for precise printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a support material with mismatched viscosity and yield stress is used, then the support material can be easily processed, but the printed material experiences diffusion and deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the temperature of the support material to transition between solid and fluid phases. During printing, the support material is heated to a fluid state to enable easy deposition and shaping. After printing, the temperature is reduced to cause phase transition to solid state, providing structural support and preventing diffusion/deformation of the printed material. This temperature-based parameter control resolves the contradiction between ease of manufacture and manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the support material's physical state changeable and time-dependent. The support material dynamically transitions from solid to fluid during the printing process when needed for deposition, then transitions back to solid after printing to provide stabilization. This dynamic state change allows the system to adapt between the conflicting requirements of processability and geometric fidelity at different stages of manufacturing.
2Strength
If the support material is in solid phase, then it provides structural support, but it cannot allow for precise deposition of printed material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent directly applies phase transitions by utilizing the temperature-dependent solid-fluid transition of the support material. The support material is heated above its melting point to become fluid, enabling precise deposition of printed material through injection or extrusion. After deposition is complete, the temperature is lowered below the melting point to induce solidification, providing the necessary structural support. This phase transition mechanism allows the system to sequentially achieve both ease of operation during deposition and structural support afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action through cyclic temperature changes that periodically transition the support material between solid and fluid states. The temperature is periodically increased to fluid state for deposition operations, then periodically decreased to solid state for structural support. This periodic cycling between states enables repeated printing cycles while maintaining both depositability and structural integrity at appropriate times.
3Manufacturing precision
If the support material transitions to fluid phase under stress, then it allows for precise deposition, but it may cause deformation of the printed structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by transitioning the support material to fluid phase before deposition begins, maintaining this state throughout the entire printing process to ensure continuous precision. The printed material is deposited into the pre-prepared fluid support material, which provides consistent flow properties and support during the entire deposition sequence. After deposition is complete, the support material is then transitioned to solid phase to stabilize the structure, preventing any subsequent deformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
FRESH enables high-fidelity printing of complex geometries with precise control over gelation, reducing diffusion and deformation, allowing for the creation of robust, cell-infiltrable structures that maintain geometric fidelity and can be easily handled and cultured.
Implementation Method 1
a support material configured to transition from a first solid phase to a first fluid phase in response to experiencing a stress
Implementation Method 2
the print material configured to transition from a second fluid phase to a second solid phase in the support material by a fluid-fluid interaction between the first fluid phase of the support material and the second fluid phase of the print material
Implementation Method 3
the support material is basic, and the print material is acidic, and where transition of the support material comprises neutralization of the print material during the fluid-fluid interaction of the print material and the support material
Data Source
AI summary
This document describes systems and method of embedded printing for additive manufacturing. A print material is printed into a support material. The print material and the support material each have a fluid phase and a solid phase. The print material transitions from the fluid phase to the solid phase based on a fluid-fluid interaction with the support material. One or more parameters of the support material can be adjusted to cause a diffusion rate of the print material into the support material during the fluid-fluid interaction to be less than a threshold value. Multiple print materials can be printed into the support material simultaneously.