TECH SPECIAL....Evaluation of 3D Printing and Its Potential Impact on Biotechnology and the Chemical Sciences PART 3

Evaluation of 3D Printing and Its Potential Impact on Biotechnology and the Chemical Sciences

PART 3

Table 1 addresses the principle, materials, solvent compatibility, resolution, cost, and applications associated with the five 3D printing techniques discussed above.

Table 1. Comparison of 3D Printing Methods

method	principle	materials	solvent compatibility	resolution (XY/Z) (μm)	cost (USD)	applications [ref]
SLA	UV initiated curing of defined photoresin layers	Epoxy or acrylate based resins with proprietary photoinitiators, support material is mix of propy-lene/polyethylene glycols, glycerin, and/or acrylate	Most polymer materials can absorb small organic molecules and can absorb organic or aqueous solvents resulting in swelling of the bulk material	70–250/1–10, <1 with two photon polymerization;, 31, 130	Formlabs Forml 3 299; 3D Systems ProX 950: >500 000	refs 13, 22, 136
Inkjet	Powder-liquid binding; Polyjet technology (hybrid between SLA and Inkjet) allows inkjet printing of photoresins	Photoresins or more commonly, plaster powder particles (50–100 μm in diameter)	Most polymer materials can absorb small organic molecules and can absorb organic or aqueous solvents resulting in swelling of the bulk material	20–50/50;	3D Systems Zcorp Zprinter 150: 16 580, 650: 59 000, 850: 93 000; Stratasys (polyjet) Objet 30: 55 660, Objet 24: 19 900
SLS	Laser induced heating of powder particles	Powdered PC, PVC, ABS, nylon, resin, polyester, metals, ceramic powders	Most polymer materials can absorb small organic molecules and can absorb organic or aqueous solvents resulting in swelling of the bulk material	50/1–2;	3D Systems: 250–450 000
FDM	Extrusion of molten thermoplastics	Wax blends, PC, PS, ABS, nylon, metals/ceramics (with binder)	Most polymer materials can absorb small organic molecules and can absorb organic or aqueous solvents resulting in swelling of the bulk material	250/50;	Stratasys Mojo: 9 900, Dimension: 34 900, UPrint: 20 900; Makerbot Replicator 2 000
LOM	Laser/razor cutting of heated, adhesive coated sheet material	Adhesive-coated polymer, paper, cellulose, metal sheets	Paper or cellulose may not be amenable to some chemical applications	10/100;	Cubic Technologies 14 995

Solvent compatibility for 3D printer materials is still under exploration; however, polymer reactivity, as well as the other mentioned materials’ reactivities, with aqueous and organic solvents are generally known and well documented. It is anticipated that as techniques and materials become more popular in the chemical and biochemical community, solvent compatibility will become less of a variable in such studies. In the methods that require a laser, resolution is determined not only by the laser spot size but also by the physical properties of the materials that govern the polymerization (SLA) or the thermal heating and cooling (SLS and LOM). Resolutions in the other mentioned techniques are limited by a material’s cooling properties (FDM), viscosity, and nozzle diameter. Printer costs were obtained by contacting the listed company for quotes, and printer brand name and model name are provided, if possible. Desktop printers that may be lacking in terms of resolution are generally <$10,000 while midtier printers can cost up to $100,000. Printers for industrial use, high resolution, or for high throughput printing can cost $250,000 or more. These price points are estimates of the market prices.

Bethany C. Gross, Jayda L. Erkal, Sarah Y. Lockwood, Chengpeng Chen, and Dana M. Spence*

Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, 578 South Shaw Lane, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States

Anal. Chem., 2014, 86 (7), pp 3240–3253

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