3D Printing Customized Optical Lens in Minutes

Abstract

Synergizing grayscale photopolymerization and meniscus coating processes, rapid 3D printing of optical lenses is reported previously using projection microstereolithography (PµSL) process. Despite its 14 000‐fold‐improved printing speed over the femtosecond 3D printing process, PµSL still consumes significant amount of the fabrication time for precise recoating 5 µm thick fresh resin layers. At the reported speed of 24.54 mm3 h−1, 3D printing of the millimeter‐size lenses still takes hours. To further improve the printing speed, the microcontinuous liquid interface production process is implemented to eliminate the time‐consuming resin recoating step. However, the micrometer‐size pores in the Teflon membrane needed for oxygen transportation are found to completely spoil the surface smoothness. The use of polydimethylsiloxane thin film possessing much refined nanoscopic porosities as the functional substitute of Teflon membrane is reported to significantly reduce the surface roughness to 13.7 nm. 3D printing of 3 mm high aspherical lens in ≈2 min at a 200‐fold‐improved speed at 4.85 × 103 mm3 h−1 is demonstrated. The 3D printed aspherical lens has the demonstrated imaging resolution of 3.10 µm. This work represents a significant step in tackling the speed‐accuracy trade‐off of 3D printing process and thus enables rapid fabrication of customized optical components.

Microfluidic-assisted 3D-printed eye (MAP-eye): a biomimetic ommatidium array with direct full-colour 3D to 2D panoramic imaging and position tracking

“…1-4). First, a mould with an open hemispherical pit is 3D-printed using a projection micro-stereolithography 3D printer [43,44].…”

Academic Insights and Perspectives in 3D Printing: A Bibliometric Review

“…Metallic alloys are typically used in the aerospace area by prototyping complex and customized structures [77,78] as traditional processes are time-consuming, difficult and costly [79][80][81]. Ceramics, in the form of powders or paste, can be 3D printed by applying heat up to their melting point or an adhesive binder, and are readily fabricated into strong and versatile ceramic scaffolds with complex shapes [82][83][84]. Therefore, customized small-batch products for patient-specific necessities can be manufactured in time with relatively low costs [85], which particularly meet the requirement of biomedical field [86][87][88].…”

3D Printing of Customized Aspheric Lenses for Imaging

“…Three-dimensional (3D) printing, referring to the technology of fabricating 3D parts layer-by-layer from computer-aided design (CAD) models, is a promising method for fabricating elements that are challenging using traditional technologies, such as vascular stents [4], microfluidic devices [5], micro-lattices [6], and some optical components (for example, micro-lens arrays [7,8], ultracompact multi-lens objectives [9], and aspheric lenses [10][11][12]). Stereolithography (SLA) is a 3D printing technology that uses photocurable resin to manufacture objects [13], and characterizes high resolution and accuracy.…”