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International Journal of Bioprinting Five-axis printer for hybrid 3D scaffolds

Table 3. Printing parameters for 3D inkjet printing on a free- can further enhance the functionality and effectiveness of
form surface scaffolds in tissue engineering applications.
Printing parameter Value The developed printer can be used for fabricating
Printing speed, ν (mm/s) 8.33 hybrid scaffolding structures, integrating both hard and
Jetting frequency, ƒ (Hz) 2656 soft materials by combining 3D inkjet and extrusion
Resolution, ϕ (dpi) 8100 printing on planar surfaces, as well as 3D inkjet printing
of porous structures on single-curved and free-form
surfaces. This integration streamlines the fabrication
introduces further intricacies. Moreover, due to the of multi-material osteochondral and palatal implants.
irregularities of the surface, there is a risk of uncontrollable We believe that our approach provides a solution for
ink spreading before curing. Overcoming these challenges the aforementioned examples, thereby overcoming the
is essential to minimize deviations and ensure accurate and limitations of traditional AMTs and demonstrating the
reliable printing on non-planar geometries. fabrication of simple hybrid designs.
While we provide a unique approach for the hardware/
software and movement strategies for inkjet printing Acknowledgments
over curved surfaces and image processing, the surface The authors would like to thank Lithoz GmbH (Austria)
approximation to print on surfaces with Gaussian for providing ceramic platelets and Stratasys Ltd. (Israel)
curvature lacks precision. It is important to note that the for providing the water-soluble support material.
approximations we utilized to map 2D images onto 3D Additionally, the authors would like to thank Mr. Eduard
surfaces were not the focus of our study, but rather means Winter from the Natural History Museum Vienna and the
to demonstrate the validity of our approach. While this pathological-anatomical collection in the Narrenturm for
approximation lacks an underlying algorithm and the providing access to the resources.
model building is not automated and strongly dependent
on the user, it was deemed sufficient for the purpose of this Funding
study. Indeed, a numerical model to solve this problem
would be ideal, but the complex mathematical calculations This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon
required are beyond the scope of this research. 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant number:
953134; INKplant: Ink-based hybrid multi-material
4. Conclusion fabrication of next-generation implants).

The central topic of this paper was to provide insight into Conflict of interest
the development of a five-axis printer for the fabrication
of hybrid scaffolding structures on two fronts: (i) multi- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
material fabrication of soft phases by combining two
different AMTs, and (ii) printing on free-form surfaces to Author contributions
fabricate hybrid scaffolds of dissimilar materials. We divide Conceptualization: Michael Kainz, Elena Guillén
the development into three main topics, namely, hardware/ Formal Analysis: Michael Kainz
software setup, the establishment of workflows and Funding Acquisition: Elena Guillén
printing strategies, and the demonstration of the potential Investigation: Michael Kainz, Isabel Caetano da Silva,
of the printing system to fabricate different scaffolding Paula Schumann, Adrián Martínez Cendrero,
structures. The workflows highlight the incorporation Thomas Voglhuber
of inkjet printing within existing virtual path planning Methodology: Michael Kainz, Elena Guillén, Tilo Dehne,
software and the combination of two different AMTs in Gunpreet Oberoi, Julia Kastner, Erik Kornfellner,
one fabrication process. Daniel Seitz
Moving forward, future studies may explore the Project Administration: Elena Guillén, Sandra Haas
utilization of novel materials to augment scaffolds with Software: Milan Rathod, Lukas Hartung
nanotopography and integrate materials to induce Supervision: Elena Guillén, Francesco Moscato, Andrés
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mechanical stimulation and enhance tissue regeneration. Díaz Lantada
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When combined with hybrid printing processes, these Visualization: Michael Kainz
innovative approaches hold promise for improving tissue Writing – original draft: Michael Kainz
remodeling. By leveraging the synergy between materials Writing – review & editing: Michael Kainz, Elena Guillén,
and additive manufacturing methodologies, researchers Francesco Moscato

Volume 10 Issue 3 (2024) 600 doi: 10.36922/ijb.3189