A novel parameterized digital-mask generation method for projection stereolithography in tissue engineering

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the novel parameterized digital-mask generation method which is aimed at enhancing bio-scaffold’s fabricating efficiency with digital micro-mirror device (DMD)-based systems. Design/methodology/approach A method to directly generate the digital masks of bio-scaffolds without modeling the entire 3D scaffold models is presented. In most of the conventional methods, it is inefficient to dynamically modify the size of the structural unit cells during design, because it relies more or less on commercial computer aided design (CAD) platforms. The method proposed in this paper can achieve high efficient parameterized design, and it is independent from any CAD platforms. The generated masks in binary bitmap format can be used by the DMD-based to achieve scaffold’s additive manufacture. In conventional methods, the Boolean operation of the external surface and the internal architectures would result in the damage of unit cells in boundary region. These damaged unit cells not only lose its original mechanical property but also cause numbers of gaps and isolated features that would reduce the geometric accuracy of the fabricated scaffolds; the proposed method in this paper provides an approach to tackle this defect. Findings The results show that the proposed method can improve the digital masks generation efficiency. Practical implications The proposed method can serve as an effective supplement to the slicing method in additive manufacture. It also provides a way to design and fabricate scaffolds with heterogeneous architectures. Originality/value This paper gives supports to fabricate bio-scaffold with DMD-based systems.