2.5D printing of a yield-stress fluid

Abstract

We report on direct ink writing of a model yield-stress fluid and focus on the printability of the first layer, the one in contact with the supporting substrate. We observe a diversity of deposition morphologies that depends on a limited set of operational parameters, mainly ink flow rate, substrate speed and writing density, and also on material properties (e.g., yield-stress). Among these morphologies, one of them does not depend on fluid properties (as long as the fluid displays some yield-stress) and consists of flat films whose thickness is controllable in a significant range, about 0.1 - 1 mm, and tunable in real time during printing. We thus demonstrate the ability to print films with thickness gradients and prove that the printing fidelity is mainly due to a competition between yield-stress and capillarity.