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

增材制造，也被称为三维（3D）打印，是一类通过积累而不是去除材料（例如加工）来制造3D物体的制造技术。目前大多数增材制造技术都是逐层积累材料。近年来，基于增值加工的无层增材制造技术被提出。优点包括更快的加工速度，更光滑的表面和更好的零件质量使用无层技术。然而，加工速度和零件质量是生产相对宽的固体截面零件的关键挑战。该奖项支持基础研究，为宽实体截面任意3D物体的无层增材制造提供新知识。快速、无层的增材制造工艺的建立将使生产超出桁架或外壳形状和尺寸的零件成为可能。该研究涉及物理、表面科学、微流体和制造技术等多个学科，将为先进制造业贡献新的知识。这项研究将对大量少数民族学生产生重大影响，并加强STEM教育。连续液体界面生产是一种基于还原光聚合的无层增材制造技术，其构建速度比逐层光聚合快25到100倍。然而，在聚合发生之前，补充聚合物可以移动的水平距离是有限的，这禁止打印具有大截面的部件。这项资助将通过研究树脂流动固化动力学来建立对制造过程的基本理解。研究团队将进行液-凝胶-固体多相建模以了解树脂流动，探索新的窗口设计以加速树脂补充，并建立新的光传递策略以协调树脂流动和固化过程。这项研究将测试一个假设，即纹理窗口和梯度光传输策略的集成将使具有宽固体横截面的任意物体的连续打印成为可能。

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.