Layerless Additive Manufacturing of 3D Objects with Wide Solid Cross Sections

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Additive manufacturing, also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, is a class of manufacturing technologies that make 3D objects by accumulating rather than removing material (e.g. machining). Most current additive manufacturing technologies accumulate material in a layer-by-layer process. Recently, layerless additive manufacturing techniques based on vat processing have been suggested. Advantages include faster processing speed, smoother surfaces and better part quality using layerless techniques. However, processing speed and part quality are critical challenges for producing parts with relatively wide solid cross sections. This award supports fundamental research to provide new knowledge for layerless additive manufacturing of arbitrary 3D objects with wide solid cross sections. The establishment of a fast, layerless additive manufacturing process would enable the production of part shapes and sizes beyond trusses or shells. The research involves multiple disciplines of physics, surface science, microfluidics and manufacturing technology and will contribute new knowledge to advanced manufacturing. The research will have significant impact on a large number of minority students and enhance STEM education.Continuous Liquid Interface Production is a layerless additive manufacturing technology based on vat photopolymerization that can achieve build speeds 25 to 100 times faster than layer-by-layer photopolymerization. However, the horizontal distance over which the replenishment polymer can travel before polymerization occurs is limited, which prohibits printing of parts with large cross-sections. This grant will establish a fundamental understanding of the manufacturing process by investigating the resin flow-curing dynamics. The research team will perform liquid-gel-solid multi-phase modeling to understand the resin flow, explore new window designs to accelerate resin replenishment, and establish new light delivery strategies to coordinate resin flow and curing processes. This research will test the hypothesis that the integration of a textured window and a gradient light delivery strategy will enable continuous printing of arbitrary objects with wide solid cross sections.