Re: [DIYbio] Re: Re-analyzing 3d bio printing

Sorry, forgot to add the link for the MakiBox 3D printer:

http://makibox.com/details/product/A6-LT

Patrik

On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 8:54:21 PM UTC-7, Patrik D'haeseleer wrote:

Hi Tim,

I think inkjet printing still has its place - especially for things such as printing a 2D pattern of growth factors over a layer of cells, Syringe pumps also have limitations with surface tension - you can achieve tiny droplets with an inkjet that would be impossible with a syringe pump, because you are literally jetting the droplets out of the print head.

In general, syringe pumps will give you more flexibility though. And yes, you can just mount them on your favorite 3D printer. We built our own $150 printer because we didn't already have a 3D printer and were too cheap to buy one ;-). But now that we've actually won a $1500 3D printer using our $150 bioprinter instructable, we do indeed plan to replace the plastic extrusion print head with a bio print head. It won't be a dedicated bioprinter though - we want to make sure we can still use it for regular 3D printing as well.

We've actually been eyeing the $200 MakiBox 3D printer to turn into a dedicated  bioprinting platform. No heated platform at that price, which suits us just fine. And it's fully enclosed in clear acrylic, meaning less chance of contamination and easy to clean...

Patrik