Custom Printer · Bioprinting · Direct ink writing · Extrusion · Printess · 2025 · Advanced Materials
A Low-Cost, Open-Source 3D Printer for Multimaterial and High-Throughput Direct Ink Writing of Soft and Living Materials
Fully DIY (not retrofit) open-source 3D printer for multimaterial, high-throughput direct ink writing
Performance the paper reports
0 of 5- Motion—Motion accuracy: not reported
- Volume—Volumetric accuracy: not reported
- Viability—Cell viability: not reported
- Unattended—Unattended operation: not reported
- Standard—Standard compliance: not reported
The full text was read and states no figure for any of the five.
How hard this is to adopt
3.9 of 5, higher is easierEach score is shown against the range the other 59 builds actually occupy, because no criterion uses the full 1–5 scale. These describe how reproducible the build is, not how good the science is.
Resolution
3/1–5Smallest feature/positioning evidence about 100 µm.
Throughput
4/2–5Evidence of parallel, plate-scale, multi-head, or unattended operation.
Parts sourcing
4/2–4Mostly off-the-shelf or kit-based components.
Skill needed
4/2–4Build/operation described as low-skill or basic assembly.
Facilities needed
3/2–4Requires accessible but nontrivial lab/maker equipment.
Documentation
5/2–5Provides a complete open-resource build guide enabling direct reproduction, including all design files, bill of materials, fabrication protocols, software/firmware, operating procedures, and user support resources
Validation effort
4/2–4Validation includes standards, benchmarking, replicates, or multi-condition tests.
Cycle time
4/1–4Speed evidence suggests rapid, real-time, or automated operation.
2 further criteria are recorded but not shown
- Application Level — scored 4 (75% of records share one value), so it cannot separate one build from another.
- Build Time (scored for only 6 of 60 records), so it cannot separate one build from another.
Both remain in the published dataset.
Have you built this?
Report what it took, including attempts that stalled. A failed build tells the next laboratory what the documentation leaves out.
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The index has no licence on the design files for this build. If you are an author or have built it, you know; a GitHub issue pre-filled with this record takes a minute.
Record metadata
Publication data
Matched by doi · retrieved 2026-07-21
Abstract
Direct ink writing is a 3D printing method that is compatible with a wide range of structural, elastomeric, electronic, and living materials, and it continues to expand its uses into physics, engineering, and biology laboratories. However, the large footprint, closed hardware and software ecosystems, and expense of commercial systems often hamper widespread adoption. This work introduces a compact, low-cost, multimaterial, and high-throughput direct ink writing 3D printer platform with detailed assembly files and instructions provided freely online. In contrast to existing low-cost 3D printers and bioprinters, which typically modify off-the-shelf plastic 3D printers, this system is built from scratch, offering a lower cost and full customizability. Active mixing of cell-laden bioinks, high-throughput production of auxetic lattices using multimaterial multinozzle 3D (MM3D) printing methods, and a high-toughness, photocurable hydrogel for fabrication of heart valves are introduced. Finally, hardware for embedded multinozzle and 3D gradient nozzle printing is developed for producing high-throughput and graded 3D parts. This powerful, simple-to-build, and customizable printing platform can help stimulate a vibrant biomaker community of engineers, biologists, and educators.
Bibliographic details
Access and metrics
Topics and keywords
Funding
- National Science Foundation · ECCS‐2026822
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · DP2HL168563
Perspective and practical signals
Why it matters
Adjacent platform for living-material printing; include if you want broader DIW-living-materials tooling.
Limitations
Full custom build (not a retrofit) at very low cost; high-end multimaterial/multinozzle features rivaling expensive commercial DIW systems; compact (3 kg, 23x23x40 cm)