2024/02/12 by Max J. Sevcik, Jacob Golson, Gabriel Bjerke +9 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · #3D Printing in Biomedical Research #Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies #Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00515
openalex publication_date 2024/02/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Material extrusion Additive Manufacturing (AM), is one of the most widely practiced methods of AM. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is what most associate with AM, as it is relatively inexpensive, and highly accessible, involving feeding plastic filament into a hot-end that melts and extrudes from a nozzle as the toolhead moves along the toolpath. Direct Ink Write (DIW) 3D printing falls into this same category of AM, however is primarily practiced in laboratory settings to construct novel parts from flowable feedstock materials. DIW printers are relatively expensive and often depend on custom software to print a part, limiting user-specificity. There have been recent advancements in multi-material and functionally graded DIW, but the systems are highly custom and the methods used to achieve multi-material prints are openly available to the public. The following article outlines the construction and operation method of a DIW system that is capable of printing that can produce compositionally-graded components using a dual feed progressive cavity pump extruder equipped with a dynamic mixer. The extruder and its capabilities to vary material composition while printing are demonstrated using a Prusa i3 MK3S+ desktop fused filament fabrication printer as the gantry system. This provides users ease of operation, and the capability of further tailoring to specific needs.