Printing 3D Magnetic Composite Structures with Arbitrary Anisotropy using UV-curable Magnetic Ink

Graduation date: 2017Inkjet printing offers a cost effective, highly customizable method for rapid manufacturing of functional devices with minimal material waste. Although this method has been used for a variety of composites, little work has been done in the area of 3D printing magnetic composites. Presented here is a process for inkjet printing 3D magnetic composites with arbitrary anisotropy. The process begins by jetting a drop of UV-curable ink containing magnetic nanoparticles onto a substrate. Next, a magnetic field aligns the nanoparticles, while a pulse of UV light polymerizes the drop of UV ink. The process then repeats drop-by-drop and layer-by-layer to build 3D magnetic composites with arbitrary anisotropy. In this work, a custom water-based UV-curable ink containing cobalt-based nanoparticles was engineered to meet the requirements for inkjet printing and UV curing 3D magnetic composites. Composites with varying shape, thickness, and anisotropy were printed, aligned, cured, and characterized. Results indicate arbitrarily controlled anisotropy in 3D magnetic composites is possible using the presented process