BUTTERFLIES | Advanced hyBridised manufactUring Technique for nexT genERation oF bio-intelLIgent componEntS

Bio-intelligent 3D printing inspired by nature

Petroleum-based plastics and conventional 3D printing binders are hindering efforts to make manufacturing truly sustainable. At the same time, advanced additive manufacturing struggles to integrate environmentally friendly materials without compromising performance. In this context, the EU-funded BUTTERFLIES project is turning to one of nature’s most abundant biopolymers: chitin. Found in the shells of crustaceans and insects, chitin and its derivative chitosan form the basis of new bio-based binders for high-precision 3D printing techniques (binder jetting and two-photon polymerisation). By enabling complex structures from biodegradable materials, BUTTERFLIES aims to replace fossil-based inputs, paving the way for smarter, greener manufacturing systems inspired by biological processes.

Objective

BUTTERFLIES aims to drive Europe towards sustainability and technological progress through Biointelligent Manufacturing, using biological systems to create innovative production technologies. Our project will achieve these aims by addressing challenges currently preventing widespread uptake of bio-polymers in advanced additive manufacturing (AM). The BUTTERFLIES bio-inspired advancements are based on chitin, one of the most abundant bio-polymers on Earth (second only to cellulose), and applied specifically to binder jetting (BJT) and 2 photon polymerisation (2PP) AM processes.

Environmental sustainability will be achieved through chitin nanocrystal crosslinkers that bind chitin biopolymers in BJT and photocurable chitosan bio-polymer in 2PP. These approaches will offer streamlined production to replace petroleum-based plastics and non-environmentally friendly binders.
BUTTERFLIES seeks to transform and revolutionise European manufacturing and products through seamless integration of biomaterials into additive manufacturing processes. BUTTERFLIES will address the challenges associated with the processing of biomaterials such as chitin and chitosan in processes such as binder jetting (BJT) and 2 photon polymerisation (2PP).

Environmental sustainability will be achieved through low-temperature bio-based binders that will offer streamlined production to replace petroleum-based plastics and binders with chitin, the second most common biopolymer in nature.

BUTTERFLIES will focus on development of smart bioproduct and hybrid manufacturing techniques through key technology developments:
- BJT and 2PP for bio-intelligent 3D manufacturing to manufacture complex structures from biomaterials with embedded intelligence from bioprocesses and mimicry of real biological systems.
-Novel biomaterial binders
-Process design for BJ and 2PP-based 3D printing of biomaterials.
-Process scalability of the 2PP technique based on laser beam shaping and multi-beam processing.