Conductive 3D carbon collectors for fibre deposition

Overview

This solution introduces an active collector design concept for fibre-deposition technologies such as electrospinning, electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, and melt electrowriting. Rather than treating the collector as a passive substrate, the platform uses conductive 3D carbon collectors with programmable architectures to locally shape the electric field during deposition. The collector geometry is derived from a digital twin and optimised to influence fibre trajectory, orientation, packing density, and pore architecture. By decoupling collector engineering from the fibre-generation process, the approach enables iterative design refinement using micro-CT feedback, supporting greater structural fidelity and reproducibility in advanced nonwoven and scaffold manufacturing.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Reusable conductive carbon collectors manufactured via high-resolution 3D printing of polymer precursors followed by controlled carbonisation
• Programmable 3D architectures designed to locally shape the electric field and guide fibre orientation, density, and pore structure
• Digital twin integration allowing collector geometry to be derived directly from simulation and iteratively refined using micro-CT validation
• Compatibility with established electrospinning, EHD, and melt electrowriting deposition platforms
• Advanced characterisation capabilities including SEM, XPS, and complementary surface and structural analysis methods
• Expertise in carbon materials, additive manufacturing, and surface engineering supporting both fabrication and validation

Technology readiness level

The concept is at an early-to-mid stage of development. Planned validation proceeds in four phases: digital translation of the digital twin into printable collector geometries with electric-field simulation, fabrication of polymer precursors by additive manufacturing followed by carbonisation and characterisation of dimensional accuracy, conductivity, and surface properties, evaluation of the collector concept on an established fibre-deposition platform with comparison to the digital twin, and iterative optimisation using micro-CT feedback to refine collector geometry. The approach is ready for collaborative research, pilot validation, and co-development activities to advance the technology toward broader application.