Fig. 1: Schematic of the MEW jet.

A The molten polymer in a heated syringe is pushed through the nozzle via pneumatic pressure, forming a droplet called a Taylor cone. The electrostatic charges result in a fine jet to be ejected from the Taylor cone toward the collector. This thin electrified jet is direct written on to a surface (the collector) which solidify into microfibres. Red text indicates input process parameters and blue text indicates key output process parameters. B Photograph of the automated MEW 3D printer with the most important hardware components annotated, including X, Y, Z-axis stages, print head, collector, collimated backlight and telecentric lens/camera.