Fibroprinting - Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced (Bio)fabrication via In-Situ Biomimetic Spinning and 3D Printing

One major challenge in the additive manufacturing of soft materials such as thermoplastics, elastomers, and gels is their low mechanical stability. Nature solves this by embedding continuous fibers like collagen or cellulose into soft matrices. Integrating 3D printing into composite materials with fiber spinning has remained difficult due to limited material compatibility, restricted deposition methods, insufficient control over fiber properties, and lack of interlayer reinforcement. We present a spider-inspired technology that combines 3D (bio) printing with in situ biomimetic fiber spinning allowing novel approach for additive manufacturing of fiber-reinforced composites. Fibers with diameter ranging from ca 200 nm to ca 20 μm of microns are drawn from polymer solutions or melts with maximal average speed up to ca 4.4 m/s and deposited via controlled oscillatory motion with placement precision ca 100 μm over distance of at least 10 cm, enabling horizontal or tilted freestanding fibers, precise adjustment of pulling speeds, and fabrication of structures with virtually unlimited thickness. This method surpasses many existing fiber-reinforced additive manufacturing techniques and enables novel complex, fiber-reinforced architectures and composites for biomedical and engineering applications by combining (i) fast deposition of very thin fibers; (ii) their programmed deposition and distribution; (iii) fabrication of free-standing fibers; and (iv) fabrication of samples with virtually unlimited thickness.