A new way of 3D printing soft materials such as gels and collagens offers a major step forward in the manufacture of artificial medical implants.

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Developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham, the technique could be used to print soft biomaterials that could be used to repair defects in the body.

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Printing soft materials using additive manufacturing has been a big challenge for scientists because if they are not supported, they sag and lose their shape. The new technique, called Suspended Layer Additive Manufacturing (SLAM), uses a polymer-based hydrogel in which the particles have been manipulated to create a self-healing gel.

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Liquids or gels can be injected directly into this medium and built up in layers to create a 3D shape. The method offers an alternative to existing techniques which use gels that have been minced to form a slurry bath into which the printed material is injected. […]

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