MAS.S66: How to Grow (Almost) Anything

Priya Pillai

Bioprinting: Leveraging 3D Printing for Biofabrication

April 18, 2019

For this week, we made a bioink and then 3D printed that bioink in a shape of our choosing. We used a bioink that is a gel at room temperature and a liquid when cold. This allows us to mix the cells in easily but still be able to print structure. However, the bioink material is not as strong as traditional plastics (and the printer does not provide support material), so the geometries it can print are limited.

Geometry for 3D Printing
The geometry I made to 3D print in bioink

I created the above geometry by revolving a curve such that it only had a very minimal incline. However, at the scale of the bioprinter, the walls proved to be too thin to support themselves. The software was able to lay out a path that looked promising, but that collapsed over time.

Software laying out path for STL file
The path laid out by the software for the needle of the 3D printer to follow
The beginning of the 3D printing process
Glitched 3D print
Evidence of collapse in the walls due to lack of support from layers below

This could potentially be fixed by using thicker walls with absolutely no incline.