New knowledge of the industry. The effect of light curing depth on Al2O3 ceramic 3D printing.

Recently, the team led by Haijun Su of Northwestern Polytechnical University published a research entitled Selection strategy of curating depth for vat photopolymerization 3D printing of Al2O3 ceramics in Additive Manufacturing,How to optimize the curing depth parameters to improve the printing quality and performance of Al2O3 ceramics in the light-curing 3D printing technology was studied.

Original link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214860424002860
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△ Fig. 2,(a) degreasing and sintering scheme of VPP 3D printing blank, (B) schematic diagram of three-point bending test.

△ Fig. 3,(a) the curing characteristics of Al2O3 ceramic slurry in this experiment, (B) the size of samples under different curing depths,(c) the storage modulus,(G') and loss modulus (G'') measured by the rheology of ceramic slurry under ultraviolet irradiation, and the on time of ultraviolet light source is 150 seconds, (D) The time range between 145 and 175 seconds in Figure (c) shows the gel point.

△ Fig. 4,(a) Surface roughness of green bodies and sintered samples with different curing depths; Morphology of near surface of printed samples with different curing depths:(a1)80 μm,(b1)100 μm,(c1)150 μm,(d1)200 μm.

△ Fig. 5, sintering morphology of trapezoidal samples with different bottom angles at different curing depths:(a)40 °/80μm, (B) 40 °/100 μm,(c)40 °/150 μm,(d)40 °/200 μm,(a1)50 °/80μm,(b1)50 °/100 μm,(c1)50 °/150 μm,(d1)50 °/200 μm,(a2)60 °/80 μm,(b2)60 °/100 μm,(c2)60 °/150 μm,(d2)60 °/200 μm..

6, parallelism results of sintered trapezoidal specimens with different curing depths.

Figure 7, a schematic diagram of the size and surface topography changes of ceramic parts made by VPP 3D printing due to different curing depths.

8, FT-IR results of printed samples with different cure depths (a) and cured resin (B).

△ Fig. 9, thermogravimetric analysis results of VPP 3D printing samples with different curing depths:(a) TG and DTG curves of samples with curing depth of 80μm, (B) TG and DTG curves of samples with curing depth of 100μm,(c) TG and DTG curves of samples with curing depth of 150μm,(d) TG and DTG curves of samples with curing depth of 200μm, (E) Mass loss in stages I,II and III,(f) Mass loss peak temperature in three stages.

△ Fig. 10, differential scanning calorimetry results of VPP 3D printing samples with different curing depths:(a) DSC and DDSC curves of samples with curing depth of 80μm, (B) DSC and DDSC curves of samples with curing depth of 100μm,(c) DSC and DDSC curves of samples with curing depth of 150μm,(d) DSC and DDSC curves of samples with curing depth of 200μm, (E) The peak temperature of the thermal effect of each stage,(f) the heat release of the low temperature (I and II) and high temperature stages (III and IV) of the degreasing process.

Delta Figure 11, Microstructure of stripped samples with different curing depths:(a) 80 μm, (B) 100 μm, (c) 150 μm, (d) 200 μm.

△ Fig. 12, microstructure of sintered samples with different curing depths:(a)80 μm,(B) 100 μm,(c)150 μm,(d)200 μm; Serrated defects in samples with different curing depths:(a1)80 μm,(b1)100 μm,(c1)150 μm,(d1)200 μm; sintered samples with a curing depth of 150 μm:(e) side surface,(f) top surface,(g) interface macromorphology,(h) microstructure structure, (I) partial enlargement of h.

Figure 13. (a) Buckling strength and relative density of sintered samples with different curing depths, and (B) Weibull statistical analysis of ceramic samples.

Effect of curing depth on mechanical propertiesThe results show that the curing depth has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of Al2O3 ceramics. By optimizing the curing depth, the strength and toughness of the printed part can be effectively improved, and the generation of defects can be reduced.

Effect of curing depth on printing accuracyAt the same time, the experiment also found that the curing depth is negatively correlated with the printing accuracy, that is, the greater the curing depth, the lower the printing accuracy. This is due to the fact that too much depth of cure results in poor interlayer fusion and increased surface roughness of the print.

Selection of the optimum curing depthThrough the comprehensive analysis of the performance of the printed parts under different curing depths, the researchers found an optimal curing depth range, in which the mechanical properties and accuracy of the printed parts can be taken into account to achieve the best printing effect.

This article provides an in-depth study of a key parameter in light-curing 3D printing technology-curing depth, and provides practical optimization strategies. The choice of cure depth directly affects the structural performance and surface quality of the print, so it is very important to understand and control this parameter in practical applications. By optimizing the curing depth, not only the strength and accuracy of ceramic parts can be improved, but also the rejection rate in the printing process can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved. This study provides theoretical support and practical guidance for the application of light-curing 3D printing technology in high-performance ceramic manufacturing.