I-Corps: Non-gravity and Anti-gravity Electrohydrodynamic Inkjet Printing of Electronics

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a portable electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printer for in-space manufacturing and anti-gravity 3D printing. The proposed EHD technology enables 3D printing using electrical forces to drive liquid-ink flow under a non-gravity or microgravity environment. The proposed 3D printer is aimed at making high-resolution patterns with high flexibility to adapt substrates and different platforms and production lines, and a high degree of customization of structural designs. In addition, the proposed technology may support micro-/nano-scale additive manufacturing to migrate from fundamental studies to large-scale production on Earth. The EHD printing system may be modified for flexible electronics and optics fabrication applications, such as flexible sensors and wearable devices. It is envisioned that the research outcomes may go beyond in-space manufacturing to other fields of micro/nano manufacturing, quality assurance, biomedical science, cyber-physical systems, and sensor design and fabrication. This I-Corps project is based on the development of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technology to be used in additive manufacturing (AM) processes. The proposed EDH printing technology is a micro/nanomanufacturing technique that utilizes the interaction between an electric field and a liquid jet to deposit small droplets of ink onto a substrate. It is a unique technology that can work in non-gravity environments because electrical force is the main driving force for material flow and deposition. This makes the technology a good match for future in-space manufacturing and anti-gravity printing applications. The proposed process and hardware have been designed to ensure reliable printing performance under extreme conditions such as vibrations, accelerations, and gravitational changes. In addition, this technology has been validated through in-flight tests under microgravity as a part of a series of tests funded by NASA. These explorations may enable new innovations, including on-site AM, electronics repair, hydrodynamics studies, and AM in space or at low earth orbit. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.