3D Printing of Elastic Membranes for Fluidic Pumping and Demonstration of Reciprocation Inserts on the Microfluidic Disc

Maria Bauer; Adrian Bahani; Tracy Ogata; Marc Madou

doi:10.3390/mi10080549

3D Printing of Elastic Membranes for Fluidic Pumping and Demonstration of Reciprocation Inserts on the Microfluidic Disc

Micromachines (Basel). 2019 Aug 19;10(8):549. doi: 10.3390/mi10080549.

Authors

Maria Bauer¹, Adrian Bahani², Tracy Ogata³, Marc Madou^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. mebauer@uci.edu.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
³ Department for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
⁴ Department for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. mmadou@uci.edu.
⁵ School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey 64849, Mexico. mmadou@uci.edu.

Abstract

While 3D printing is increasingly used in most fields of engineering, its utilization for microfluidics has thus far been limited. To demonstrate future applications of 3D printing for microfluidic structures, we investigate the fluidic characteristics of material jetted surfaces. We also demonstrate the manufacture of dual-material microfluidic inserts that feature rigid and elastic elements. The fabricated parts are inserted on a microfluidic CD, enhancing design freedom and prototyping capability of over molded parts. Furthermore, printed elastic membranes are tested for fatigue during elastic-pneumatic pumping and rigid and elastic surfaces are characterized with regards to hydrophilicity and surface topography. Finally, different printed disc inserts are demonstrated for moving liquid towards the center of rotation, the mixing of liquids, and controlling burst events through channels width.

Keywords: CD microfluidics; elastic membrane printing; fluid reciprocation; material jetting; microfluidics.