Initiator-Integrated 3-D Printing of Magnetic Object for Remote Controlling Application

Magnetically driven micromachines play an essential role in a number of biomedical and other remote control applications. In this paper, a magnetically driven robot composed of customized UV-curable resin was fabricated by (3-D) printing via initiator-triggered radical polymerization and the subsequent polyelectrolyte-brush-assisted electroless plating. A layer of magnetic material was grown in situ on the 3-D printed structure, which exhibited soft-magnetic properties proved by the vibrating sample magnetometer measurement. The magnetic robot was successfully actuated under the rotating magnetic field produced from a manipulator of permanent magnet. By utilizing the spiral structure, the 3-D robot was designed to translate rotational movement into linear motion. A comprehensive investigation was also carried out on the optimization of spiral shape, liquid viscosity and the strategy of magnetic controlling. The remote controlling experiments demonstrate that this initiator-integrated 3-D printing is an effective technique for making magnetically driven objects.