Converting a 6 – axis industrial robot arm to a bioprinter and printing organ models with PDMS

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printers has led to new developments, especially in the medical world. Organs or limbs printed with 3D printers have become a hope for living beings who have lost their organs or limbs by birth, accident, or for various reasons. In this study, the bioprinting processes of the 3D bioprinter were integrated into a 6-axis industrial robot arm, that is, a 6-axis industrial robot was converted into a bioprinter. First, computer-aided design (CAD) models of the purchased KUKA brand 6-axis industrial robot arm were created. The holder for the 3 cc syringe in which the biomaterial will be placed was designed, produced on a 3D printer, and mounted on the 6-axis industrial robot arm. An 8-bar compressor was purchased to provide the compressed air required to extrude the material in the syringe. Then, the print bed on which the printing process will take place was designed, manufactured, and mounted on the table. After the print bed was assembled on the table, CAD modeling was done and the whole assembly picture of the robot was created. After these processes, a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) program (sprutCAM) was purchased and all CAD modeling of the robot was introduced to this program so that the robot could be programmed for part printing. Organ models were transferred to the robot for printing in STL format with the CAM program Finally, the effectiveness of the bioprinter was examined by printing an ear and finger model with Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using a bioprinter converted from a robot arm.