Design and Fabrication of a Microfluidic Device using a 3D Printer

Files

Author

Aaron Smith, Cleveland State University

Faculty Advisors

Fodor, Petru; Borkar, Tushar; Kothapalli, Chandra

Description

The goal of this work was to design and implement a microfluidic mixer-based chemical reactor using a 3-D printer. Microfluidic devices are very useful for processes that use expensive reactants or require a high level of control, and we hypothesize that the ability to develop a prototype using a 3-D printer would lower their costs and help overcome some of the limitations of soft-lithography based devices. One-level and two-level designs were made using SolidWorks® software, and various stages of the model were printed on Objet® and FDM® printers. The Objet printer offers the advantage of printing a prototype using a transparent polymer. However, initial trials did not result in the printing of a functional prototype, and preliminary simulations suggest that changing the design features results in less efficient mixing. The FDM printer is capable of printing a functional prototype, but the polymer used is opaque. This hinders the live-imaging capabilities of the experimental analysis of the mixing in the device. The design features and selection of polymeric materials are currently being evaluated and optimized, and future research will experimentally evaluate mixing of fluids in these devices.

Publication Date

2016

College

College of Sciences and Health Professions and Washkewicz College of Engineering

Disciplines

Engineering | Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Recommended Citation

Smith, Aaron, "Design and Fabrication of a Microfluidic Device using a 3D Printer" (2016). Undergraduate Research Posters 2016. 38.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2016/38