Multi-Material, Multi-Process, Planar, and Nonplanar Additive Manufacturing of Piezoelectric Devices

Nonplanar multi-material additive manufacturing (AM) of piezoelectric devices is an important step for innovation in digital manufacturing. Herein this work, the development of a manufacturing platform based on multi-material multi-process AM that enables fabrication of piezoelectric and conductive electrode materials with complex planar and nonplanar (conformal) structures is reported. Also, the development of conductive and piezoelectric paste-like printing materials, herein called inks, for extrusion-based direct-writing AM processes is presented. The developed inks are highly stretchable (e.g., up to 100% before breaking), easy to process, and less toxic compared to existing solvent evaporation-based inks in the literature. Several piezoelectric energy-harvesting (PEH) devices are fabricated. The innovative inks within a multi-material multi-process 3D printing platform can substantially broaden the design space of multi-material AM and open up new opportunities for the production of application-oriented parts that are more integrable, conformable, scalable, and versatile.

Automated summary

This work presents the development of a multi-material multi-process additive manufacturing (AM) platform for fabricating piezoelectric devices with complex planar and nonplanar structures. The study also introduces the development of highly stretchable and less toxic printing materials, called inks, for extrusion-based direct-writing AM processes. The fabricated piezoelectric energy-harvesting devices demonstrate the potential for expanding the design space of multi-material AM.