Melt Electrowriting (MEW) is a relatively new technology capable of weaving polymer fibers between 500 nanometers and 150 microns in diameter. The basic MEW setup is a heated syringe with an electrified tip and collector with opposite charges. The polymer is melted before it is extruded. The extruded polymer forms a fiber inside the electrical field. To date this technology has been of interest mainly to those conducting research into biofabricated devices intended for use in regenerative medicine. However, the creation of many types of meshes and filters are among a myriad of new applications. MEW has been used by many groups to weave extremely thin fibers onto flat or tubular collectors. We have also created polymer fabrics on curving surfaces. This is especially useful in biofabrication (i.e., 3D printing with living materials) as there are no flat sheets or straight tubes inside the body. We have also implemented a hybrid MEW machine that incorporates a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printhead. FDM fibers are usually in the range of 150 microns to 1500 microns (1.5 mm). FDM fibers can be used to strengthen and/or improve the handling of MEW biotextiles. To date, access to MEW technology has been limited by the high cost of commercially available MEW printers, which in most cases are priced over $100,000 US. Sponsored by the NSF HAMMER ERC, we held an inaugural workshop on the production of an opensource “MEWron” (Reizabal A, et al. "MEWron: An open-source melt electrowriting platform." Additive Manufacturing 71 (2023): 103604. DOI: 10.1016/j.addma.2023.103604). The name MEWron is an amalgam of MEW and Voron. Voron is an open source platform that brings together a worldwide community of 3D printer enthusiasts. Using this platform, MEW devices can be assembled for under $5,000, a development that dramatically extends the opportunity to access MEW technology.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will understand the mechanisms behind the 3D printing modality melt electrowriting and its hybridization with 3D printing modalities such as fused deposition modeling.
Upon completion, participants will understand the opportunities to explore melt electrowriting (MEW) due to recent advances in an approach to creating low cost, open source MEW 3D printers.
Upon completion, participants will understand the opportunities to apply melt electrowriting in the medical device field as well as other non-medical opportunities.
