Programming Ink Deposition Dynamically: The New Science of Direct Ink Writing

直接墨水书写（DIW）是一种三维（3D）打印，通过将功能和/或结构液体材料（墨水）逐层沉积到基板上来构建3D对象。该奖项支持基础研究，为控制基材或先前印刷层上的油墨沉积提供新知识。这项研究将推动DIW技术向更高的可实现分辨率、更灵活的油墨设计、更高的印刷质量和更广泛的基材选择发展。DIW在许多行业都有应用，包括医疗保健、电子、汽车、航空航天和国防，因此这项研究直接影响到经济福利和国家安全。此外，油墨沉积控制的发展知识可以应用于几乎任何基于液滴或液体细丝的工艺。UIC工程学院45.6%的本科生来自传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的群体。pi将积极努力，让未被充分代表的少数民族学生参与由该项目创建的讲习班、研讨会和小型专题讨论会。研究成果将纳入UIC的三门工程课程、UIC的工程夏令营以及面向工程女性（WIEP） K-12外展项目的3D打印学习模块。在基材或先前印刷层上动态和局部控制油墨润湿性对于解决当前公差和可重复性挑战以及推进DIW技术至关重要。这个项目的目的是测试一个假设，即当施加电场时，衬底上泄漏的介电液滴/细丝的润湿特性会发生动态变化，从而实现油墨在各种衬底上的精确直接书写。施加的电场以逐像素和逐层的方式编程，因此它可以操纵油墨在任何位置，任何层和任何基板上的沉积。研究团队将进行多物理场建模和实验，了解油墨电润湿动力学，设计和构建电掩模（e-Mask）生成系统，建立新的e-Mask辅助DIW系统和工艺，并对新的DIW系统进行评估。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Direct Ink Writing (DIW) is a class of three-dimensional (3D) printing that builds a 3D object by depositing functional and/or structural liquid materials (ink) onto a substrate in a layer-by-layer approach. This award supports fundamental research to provide new knowledge for control of ink deposition on substrates or previously printed layers. The research will advance DIW technology toward a higher achievable resolution, more flexible ink design, higher print quality, and a much wider choice of substrates. DIW has applications in a number of industries, including health care, electronics, automotive, aerospace and defense, and therefore this research directly impacts economic welfare and national security. Furthermore, the developed knowledge of ink deposition control could be applied to almost any droplet- or liquid filament-based process. 45.6 percent of undergraduate students in the UIC College of Engineering are from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM. The PIs will work actively to involve underrepresented minority students in workshops, seminars, and mini-symposiums that are created from this project. Research outcomes will be incorporated into three engineering courses at UIC, the Engineering Summer Camp at UIC, and the 3D printing learning modules for Women In Engineering (WIEP) K-12 outreach programs. Dynamic and localized control of ink wettability on substrates or previously printed layers is pivotal for addressing current tolerance and repeatability challenges and advancing DIW technologies. The objective of this project is to test the hypothesis that wetting properties of leaky dielectric liquid droplets/filaments on substrates change dynamically when an electric field is applied, thus enabling accurate direct writing of inks on a wide range of substrates. The applied electric field is programmed in a pixel-by-pixel and layer-by-layer way, so that it manipulates ink deposition at any location, in any layer, and on any substrate. The research team will perform multiphysics modeling and experiments to understand the ink electrowetting dynamics, design and construct electric mask (e-Mask) generation systems, establish a novel e-Mask assisted DIW system and process, and assess the new DIW system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.