Skip to main content
SHARE
Publication

Direct ink writing techniques for in situ gelation and solidification...

by Jackson Wilt, Dustin B Gilmer, Sungjin Kim, Brett Compton, Tomonori Saito
Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
MRS Communications
Publication Date
Page Numbers
106 to 121
Volume
11
Issue
2

Direct ink writing (DIW) is an extrusion-based 3D printing method which prints near ambient temperatures and has one of the broadest printable material selections among additive manufacturing techniques. However, DIW uses viscoelastic materials susceptible to collapse during printing. One promising route to improve the structural integrity of viscoelastic inks is using in situ curing methods to increase the yield strength of the printed structures after deposition. This review summarizes progress in three representative methods of in situ curing for DIW, including ultra-violet-induced crosslinking, rapid cure of reactive ingredients, and flash vaporization of a solution’s solvent to coagulate dissolved polymers.