3D Printing with the Commercial UV-Curable Standard Blend Resin: Optimized Process Parameters towards the Fabrication of Tiny Functional Parts

Abstract

Stereolithography 3D printing is today recognized as an effective rapid prototyping technique in the field of polymeric materials, which represents both the strengths and the weaknesses of this technique. The strengths relate to their easy handling and the low energy required for processing, which allow for the production of structures down to the sub-micrometric scale. The weaknesses are a result of the relatively poor mechanical properties. Unfortunately, the choice of the right material is not sufficient, as the printing parameters also play a crucial role. For this reason, it is important to deepen and clarify the effect of different printing conditions on final product characteristics. In this paper, the behavior of commercial Standard Blend (ST Blend) acrylic resin printed with stereolithography (SL) apparatus is reported, investigating the influence of printing parameters on both the tensile properties of the printed parts and the build accuracy. Twenty-four samples were printed under different printing conditions, then dimensional analyses and tensile tests were performed. It was possible to find out the optimum printing setup to obtain the best result in terms of mechanical resistance and printing accuracy for this kind of resin. Finally, a micrometric spring was printed under the optimal conditions to demonstrate the possibility of printing accurate and tiny parts with the commercial and inexpensive STBlend resin.

Additive Manufacturing of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

“…They became the tool to support the most diffused, cheap, and fast 3D printing method for polymers for many years [6]. The basic principle is to excite with light source a bath of liquid photosensitive material to induce the polymerization and solidification (photocuring) in selected regions [93][94][95][96][97][98].…”

Concurrent Modelling and Experimental Investigation of Material Properties and Geometries Produced by Projection Microstereolithography

“…This equation is used to derive Jacob's working curve Equation (4) [2,23]. The I(x, z) is the irradiance at position x at depth z and I o is the projected irradiance at a depth equal to zero and located above the PDMS window surface and just below the prepolymer resin.…”

“…Projection microstereolithography possesses highly coupled process responses. For example, the geometrical accuracy and the material properties of the manufactured parts, which are the focus of this study, are intimately connected [23]. Manipulating the process parameters, for example the layer thickness, the exposure time, and the irradiance, to optimize one response will significantly affect all the other responses.…”

3D printing of spent coffee ground derived biochar reinforced epoxy composites

“…Although printing of thermoplastics is well established, the printing of thermosets is still a challenging task. 15,16 Unlike thermoplastic filaments which do not require polymerization 17,18 or photo/UV sensitive resins which instantly polymerize upon activation, 19,20 epoxy resins require reactive mechanisms that initially exhibit low viscosity which rises over time as the reaction proceeds under ambient conditions. These curing behaviors to maintain printed shape can be controlled by maintaining resin chemistry, temperature, and resin viscosity.…”