3D printing-assisted fabrication of microgrid patterns for flexible antiadhesive polymer surfaces

Abstract

Flexible antiadhesive polymer surfaces were fabricated using an array of microgrid patterns generated by three-dimensional (3D) printing. A disadvantage of the fused deposition modeling-type 3D printing (rough surface) was utilized to create casting molds with microgrid patterns. The shape of the microscale pattern was controlled by rotating the bottom epoxy mold where polylactic acid filaments were directly printed. By changing the direction of the bottom epoxy mold and printing resolution, a total of 12 different antiadhesive surfaces were formed and tested to characterize the adhesive forces. The surface cast from the mold with a microgrid pattern with an internal angle of 60° and a printing resolution of ~800 μm exhibited greater antiadhesive property compared to a flat polymer surface. The average adhesive force was reduced by 92.6% (from 162 to 11.9 mN) when the Kapton tape was immediately attached and detached and 99.5% (from 735 to 3.7 mN) when the Kapton tape was detached after 18 d. This study shows the use of 3D printing for a simple cost-effective controllable microfabrication of microgrid patterns for significant reductions in the adhesive forces of polymer surfaces.