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Microscale and Rheology in 3D Printing Processes

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A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D3: 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2022) | Viewed by 13316

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francisco Galindo Rosales

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Engineering, Transport Phenomena Research Center (CEFT), Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, CP 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Interests: complex fluids; rheology; printing techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Célio Bruno Pinto Fernandes

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Guest Editor

Institute for Polymers and Composites, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: rheology; swelling; viscosity and viscoelasticity; polymers at interfaces and in confined spaces; numerical simulation; constitutive and multiscale modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As one of the promising pillars in Industry 4.0, 3D printing or additive manufacturing (MA), an inverse path compared to well-developed subtractive manufacturing, has gradually evolved over the past 30 years, from the laboratory level to industrial applications. The versatility of 3D printing and the possibility of producing geometric shapes of unlimited complexity without the need for molds, are some of its great advantages over conventional subtractive manufacturing. This unique feature of MA—“modeling without mold”—results from a multidisciplinary approach that combines mechanical engineering, automation, software engineering, materials science, etc., brings new opportunities and challenges for future manufacturing.

One of the major challenges comes from seeking a better relationship between the shape of the print head and the intrinsic rheology of the chosen ink, which can be either a polymeric filament, a ceramic paste or a functional ink. This duet limits the speed and quality of the 3D printing process. The numerical optimization of the flow process, considering the shape of the nozzle to maximize the printing speed, can help to overcome this barrier.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue aiming at gathering contributions that describe recent improvements on 3D printing techniques by optimizing either the rheological properties of the inks or the printing process itself.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Francisco José Galindo-Rosales
Dr. Célio Bruno Pinto Fernandes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

3D Printing
rheology
microscale
robocasting
FDM
3D EHD printing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 4296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Theoretical and Experimental Research on Multi-Layer Vessel-like Structure Printing Based on 3D Bio-Printing Technology

by Huanbao Liu, Xianhai Yang, Xiang Cheng, Guangxi Zhao, Guangming Zheng, Xuewei Li and Ruichun Dong

Micromachines 2021, 12(12), 1517; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12121517 - 06 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2319

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Traditional autologous transplantation has become a severe issue due to insufficient donors. Artificial blood vessel is an effective method for the treatment of major vascular diseases, such as heart and peripheral blood vessel diseases. However, the traditional single-material printing technology has been unable to meet the users’ demand for product functional complexity, which is not only reflected in the field of industrial manufacturing, but also in the field of functional vessel-like structure regeneration. In order to achieve the printing and forming of multi-layer vessel-like structures, this paper carries out theoretical and experimental research on the printing and forming of a multi-layer vessel-like structure based on multi-material 3D bioprinting technology. Firstly, theoretical analysis has been explored to research the relationship among the different parameters in the process of vessel forming, and further confirm the synchronous relationship among the extrusion rate of material, the tangential speed of the rotating rod, and the movement speed of the platform. Secondly, sodium alginate and gelatin have been used as the experimental materials to manufacture the vessel-like structure, and the corrected parameter of the theoretical analysis is further verified. Finally, the cell-loaded materials have been printed and analyzed, and cell viability is more than 90%, which provides support for the research of multi-layer vessel-like structure printing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscale and Rheology in 3D Printing Processes)

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14 pages, 11734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Discrete Element Method Analysis of the Spreading Mechanism and Its Influence on Powder Bed Characteristics in Additive Manufacturing

by Valerio Lampitella, Marco Trofa, Antonello Astarita and Gaetano D’Avino

Micromachines 2021, 12(4), 392; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12040392 - 02 Apr 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2746

Abstract

Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is among the most used industrial processes, allowing for the production of customizable and geometrically complex parts at relatively low cost. Although different aspects of the powder spreading process have been investigated, questions remain on the process repeatability on the actual beam–powder bed interaction. Given the influence of the formed bed on the quality of the final part, understanding the spreading mechanism is crucial for process optimization. In this work, a Discrete Element Method (DEM) model of the spreading process is adopted to investigate the spreading process and underline the physical phenomena occurring. With parameters validated through ad hoc experiments, two spreading velocities, accounting for two different flow regimes, are simulated. The powder distribution in both the accumulation and deposition zone is investigated. Attention is placed on how density, effective layer thickness, and particle size distribution vary throughout the powder bed. The physical mechanism leading to the observed characteristics is discussed, effectively defining the window for the process parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscale and Rheology in 3D Printing Processes)

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Review

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21 pages, 4984 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceReview

Overview of 3D-Printed Silica Glass

by Han Zhang, Long Huang, Mingyue Tan, Shaoqing Zhao, Hua Liu, Zifeng Lu, Jinhuan Li and Zhongzhu Liang

Micromachines 2022, 13(1), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13010081 - 03 Jan 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7047

Abstract

Not satisfied with the current stage of the extensive research on 3D printing technology for polymers and metals, researchers are searching for more innovative 3D printing technologies for glass fabrication in what has become the latest trend of interest. The traditional glass manufacturing process requires complex high-temperature melting and casting processes, which presents a great challenge to the fabrication of arbitrarily complex glass devices. The emergence of 3D printing technology provides a good solution. This paper reviews the recent advances in glass 3D printing, describes the history and development of related technologies, and lists popular applications of 3D printing for glass preparation. This review compares the advantages and disadvantages of various processing methods, summarizes the problems encountered in the process of technology application, and proposes the corresponding solutions to select the most appropriate preparation method in practical applications. The application of additive manufacturing in glass fabrication is in its infancy but has great potential. Based on this view, the methods for glass preparation with 3D printing technology are expected to achieve both high-speed and high-precision fabrication. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscale and Rheology in 3D Printing Processes)

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