Abstract
A novel pellet 3D printer was first developed, and its structure was constructed out of three main parts. The material used in this device was polycaprolactone (PCL), which was praised for its good characteristics in the biomanufacturing and chemical industries. Three essential parameters that had important effects on the diameter of the printed fibers were systematically studied using a L9(34) orthogonal design table. Using the fused deposition modelling (FDM) method, some products were printed with this machine. Results showed that the stepper motor’s speed had the most significant effect on the diameter of the printed fibers. The optimal parameters were, a stepper motor speed of 1.256 mm3 s−1, a nozzle moving speed of 9.6 mm s−1, and 1.1 mm of height between the nozzle and the platform. Defects like gaps, warping, and poor surface quality were found to be related to different combinations of process parameters. By using the developed pellet 3D printer, the pre-step of making filaments can be avoided, which will bring convenience to FDM 3D printing.
Highlights
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is widely used in tissue engineering involving engineering and natural science [1]
When the printed bers eventually attached to the platform, their idealized diameter would be times as large as the nozzle aperture. is parameter was chosen as a standard for the calculation
Conclusion e novel 3D pellet printer developed in this study, made it convenient to use pellets in 3D printing compared to the traditional lament printer. e PCL pellets were directly extruded into di erent shapes by fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique
Summary
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is widely used in tissue engineering involving engineering and natural science [1]. Gao et al fabricated nano brous PCL sca olds with 3D controllable geometric shapes in order to carry cells and create an excellent environment for cell proliferation by means of electrospinning [7]. Wang et al produced PCL/carbon nanotube sca olds for bone applications by extrusion-additive manufacturing, and proved more bene cial advantages of PCL from chemical, physical, and biological points of view [9]. Xiao et al used emulsion freeze-drying to prepare four types of porous sca olds and investigated advantages and disadvantages of di erent weight ratios of PCL/PMCL in order to sustain human induced hepatocytes [10]. PCL does play an important role in tissue engineering, biomaterials, and chemistry, it still requires suitable manufacturing processes, such as electrospinning and extrusion additive manufacturing
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