Semi-Woven Structures via Dual Nozzle Melt Electrowriting

Melt electrowriting is an additive manufacturing technique utilizing electrohydrodynamic forces to create nano- to micro-scale fibrous polymer objects. It is a useful research tool but has yet to reach commercial scale-up mainly due to the intrinsically slow nature of extruding a single polymer jet. Here the concept of dual nozzle melts electrowriting requiring no new hardware other than the nozzle is introduced. Experimental data using a dual nozzle shows the possibility of doubling throughput including the phenomenon of semi-woven structures with fibers from one nozzle either on top or under the fiber from the other nozzle depending on programmed collector movement. The study highlights the complexity of melt electrowriting when using more than one nozzle, and provides a framework for multi-nozzle, high-throughput melt electrowriting.