TY - JOUR
T1 - The Liberalization of Microfluidics
T2 - Form 2 Benchtop 3D Printing as an Affordable Alternative to Established Manufacturing Methods
AU - Heidt, Benjamin
AU - Rogosic, Renato
AU - Bonni, Silvio
AU - Passariello-Jansen, Juliette
AU - Dimech, David
AU - Lowdon, Joe
AU - Arreguin-Campos, Rocio
AU - Steen Redeker, Erik
AU - Eersels, Kasper
AU - Dilien, Hanne
AU - van Grinsven, Bart
AU - Cleij, Thomas J.
N1 - Funding Information:
B.H. and R.R. contributed equally to this work. The authors are grateful for the financial support received from Universiteitsfonds Limburg,SWOL and Province of Limburg, LiMe.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - In laboratory environments, 3D printing is used for fast prototyping of assays and devices. Stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printers are proven to be the best choice for most researchers due to their small feature size, which is achieved by selectively curing liquid resin using a laser with a small focal point and then forming consecutive layers out of cured polymer. However, in microfluidic applications, where the limits of these machines are reached, the final results are influenced by many factors. In this work, the Form 2 SLA printer is tested to show how to achieve the best printing results for the creation of microfluidic channels. Several test structures are designed and printed with embedded and open channels in different orientations, sizes, and resins. Embedded channels significantly under perform when compared with open surface channels in terms of accuracy. Under the best printing conditions, 500 mu m is the limit for embedded channels, whereas the open surface channels show good accuracy up to widths and depths of 250 mu m.
AB - In laboratory environments, 3D printing is used for fast prototyping of assays and devices. Stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printers are proven to be the best choice for most researchers due to their small feature size, which is achieved by selectively curing liquid resin using a laser with a small focal point and then forming consecutive layers out of cured polymer. However, in microfluidic applications, where the limits of these machines are reached, the final results are influenced by many factors. In this work, the Form 2 SLA printer is tested to show how to achieve the best printing results for the creation of microfluidic channels. Several test structures are designed and printed with embedded and open channels in different orientations, sizes, and resins. Embedded channels significantly under perform when compared with open surface channels in terms of accuracy. Under the best printing conditions, 500 mu m is the limit for embedded channels, whereas the open surface channels show good accuracy up to widths and depths of 250 mu m.
KW - Form 2
KW - Formlabs
KW - microfluidics
KW - 3D printing
U2 - 10.1002/pssa.201900935
DO - 10.1002/pssa.201900935
M3 - Article
SN - 1862-6300
VL - 217
JO - Physica Status Solidi A-applications and Materials Science
JF - Physica Status Solidi A-applications and Materials Science
IS - 13
M1 - 1900935
ER -