Design and Assembly of a 3D Bioprinter and Characterization of 3D Scaffolds Produced by Casting or Printing

3D bioprinting is emerging as a promising tool in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Its benefits include custom design, on-demand manufacture, structural complexity, low cost, and efficiency. This work focused on converting a standard 3D printer into a 3D bioprinter and assessing the mechanical properties of the printed scaffolds. The material deposition rate was calibrated by adjusting the extruder; then a proportional relationship between the flow parameter and the deposited material rate was obtained. In addition, a realistic 3D model of a printed scaffold was generated using a Blender plug-in that translates the GCODE code into an STL file; this feature will allow further analysis using of finite element simulations. Regarding mechanical properties, tensile, oscillatory and creep tests were performed on the cast scaffolds; it has a tensile modulus of 0.2000 ± 0.0001 MPa. Furthermore, a continuous assessment of the dynamic modulus demonstrates that the scaffold dries. Creep-recovery tests show that the relaxation times and relaxation strength were similar when the stress was applied and when it was removed.