Papers by Author: Jerry Y.H. Fuh

Abstract: nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and collagen were utilized to fabricate the bio-inspired organic-inorganic composite coating (OICC) via the Drop-on-Demand (DoD) micro-dispensing technique, which could flexibly construct multi-layer structures with varied materials composition within a layer and /or among layers reliably. This technique has been further investigated on its capability of OICC fabrication with regards to various materials (hydroxyapatite and collagen) as well as its dispensing parameters. A four-layered structure was formed, with the sequence of nHA-collagen-nHA-collagen from bottom to top. The dispensing parameters were also investigated with regards to the characteristics of the OICC fabrication. The coating was then subjected to various characterizations including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and adhesion test. SEM and XRD results revealed that the DoD micro-dispensing technique did not change the morphology and phase of these two coating materials. And the results of EDS further demonstrated the corresponding elemental distributions within the four-layered coating structure which demonstrated the feasibility of the DoD micro-dispensing technique for the fabrication of thin-layered OICC.

Abstract: This paper presents the development a drop-on-demand micro-dispensing system on which functional devices can be directly printed in a layer-by-layer manner that is commonly used in Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing processes. The principle is to form micro droplets on substrate that requires accuracy and consistency with the ability to build 3D model. It requires heating of material to a desired temperature and viscosity which allows the piezoelectric the ability to pump out. In order to build a 3D model, a basic XYZ-axis gantry, motion controller and dispenser with temperature controller were developed and integrated. Experiments with different materials were carried out to understand the influences of the dispensing parameters on continuous frequency output. The results hold attractive potential for the use of this system in fabricating 3D models which meet the accuracy and resolution needs for various industry applications.