Additively manufactured self-supporting microfluidics
AssigneesRegents of the University of Minnesota, U.S. Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorsMichael C. McAlpine, Ruitao Su, Steven J. Koester, Joshua Uzarski
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Abstract
A printed structure including a plurality of overlying layers of elongate polymeric filaments stacked on a surface of a substrate. The elongate polymeric filaments are stacked on each other along their lengths to form a liquid impermeable, self-supporting wall. The liquid impermeable self-supporting wall forms a wall angle of about 30° to about 90° with respect to a plane of the surface of the substrate.
Claims19
A printed structure comprising a plurality of overlying layers of elongate polymeric filaments stacked on a surface of a substrate, wherein the elongate polymeric filaments are stacked on each other along their lengths to form a liquid impermeable, self-supporting wall, wherein the liquid impermeable self-supporting wall forms a wall angle of about 30° to about 90° with respect to a plane of the surface of the substrate, and wherein the liquid impermeable self-supporting wall has a thickness of a cross-section of a single elongate polymeric filament of the elongate polymeric filaments stacked to form the liquid impermeable self-supporting wall.
A method of making a printed structure, the method comprising:
- extruding through a nozzle an elongate polymeric base filament in a pattern on a surface of a substrate, wherein the base filament has a length and a width;
- moving the nozzle in a plane normal to a plane of the substrate to stepwise extrude and stack a plurality of polymeric filaments onto the base filament such that each of the polymeric filaments extruded onto the base filament contact one another along their lengths to form a wall with a wall angle of about 30° to about 90° with respect to the plane of the surface of the substrate, wherein the wall has a thickness of a cross-section of a single polymeric filament of the polymeric filaments stacked to form the wall;
- and
- at least partially curing the wall to form a liquid impermeable self-supporting wall on the surface of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.