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Micromachines
Volume 14
Issue 1
10.3390/mi14010016
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Technical Note

A Solution to the Clearance Problem of Sacrificial Material in 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices

by
Terak Hornik
,
James Kempa
,
Jeffrey Catterlin
and
Emil Kartalov
*
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Micromachines 2023, 14(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14010016
Submission received: 23 November 2022 / Revised: 16 December 2022 / Accepted: 18 December 2022 / Published: 21 December 2022
(This article belongs to the Topic Advances in Microfluidics and Lab on a Chip Technology)
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Abstract

3D-printing is poised to enable remarkable advances in a variety of fields, such as artificial muscles, prosthetics, biomedical diagnostics, biofuel cells, flexible electronics, and military logistics. The advantages of automated monolithic fabrication are particularly attractive for complex embedded microfluidics in a wide range of applications. However, before this promise can be fulfilled, the basic problem of removal of sacrificial material from embedded microchannels must be solved. The presented work is an experimental proof of principle of a novel technique for clearance of sacrificial material from embedded microchannels in 3D-printed microfluidics. The technique demonstrates consistent performance (~40–75% clearance) in microchannels with printed width of ~200 µm and above. The presented technique is thus an important enabling tool in achieving the promise of 3D printing in microfluidics and its wide range of applications.
Keywords: 3D printing; additive manufacturing; microfluidic; embedded; microchannel; sacrificial material; clearance 3D printing; additive manufacturing; microfluidic; embedded; microchannel; sacrificial material; clearance

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hornik, T.; Kempa, J.; Catterlin, J.; Kartalov, E. A Solution to the Clearance Problem of Sacrificial Material in 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices. Micromachines 2023, 14, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14010016

AMA Style

Hornik T, Kempa J, Catterlin J, Kartalov E. A Solution to the Clearance Problem of Sacrificial Material in 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices. Micromachines. 2023; 14(1):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14010016

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hornik, Terak, James Kempa, Jeffrey Catterlin, and Emil Kartalov. 2023. "A Solution to the Clearance Problem of Sacrificial Material in 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices" Micromachines 14, no. 1: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14010016

APA Style

Hornik, T., Kempa, J., Catterlin, J., & Kartalov, E. (2023). A Solution to the Clearance Problem of Sacrificial Material in 3D Printing of Microfluidic Devices. Micromachines, 14(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14010016

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