3Y-TZP DLP Additive Manufacturing: Solvent-free Slurry Development and Characterization

Italo Leite De Camargo,Rogério Erbereli,Hayden Taylor,Carlos Alberto Fortulan

doi:10.1590/1980-5373-mr-2020-0457

Italo Leite De Camargo, Rogério Erbereli + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5373-mr-2020-0457

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Abstract

Vat photopolymerization (VP) stands out among ceramic additive manufacturing processes for its ability to print sub-100 micrometer complex features. One of the main challenges of this process is the preparation of a homogeneous and stable ceramic slurry with a high solid load and low viscosity. In this work, different dispersants and resins were tested, aiming to provide a solvent-free slurry suitable for DLP additive manufacturing. Disperbyk-111 and PEGDA 250 stood out in the tests, providing a 40 vol% ceramic slurry with no noticeable sedimentation and viscosity of 2.3 Pa.s at 30 s-1 despite the relatively high specific surface area (15 m2/g) of the 3Y-TZP powder used compared to powders usually used for VP slurries. The adsorption of Disperbyk-111 on ceramic particles surface was investigated by FTIR. Finally, ceramic bodies were 3D printed, debound and sintered at 1500 ºC for 2 h, confirming the ability to manufacture detailed dense ceramic parts.

Highlights

A critical step in ceramic vat photopolymerization (VP) is the preparation of ceramic slurries that meet the necessary process requirements[1,2]
Stability is a key factor in the performance of ceramic slurries for VP additive manufacturing[4,9,10]
Solvent-free photosensitive 3Y-TZP suspensions made of ceramic powder, resin, photoinitiator and dispersant were prepared, characterized, and a suitable ceramic slurry was used to manufacture ceramic parts by digital light processing (DLP) additive manufacturing, as described

Summary

Introduction

A critical step in ceramic vat photopolymerization (VP) is the preparation of ceramic slurries that meet the necessary process requirements[1,2]. These suspensions must have a high ceramic loading to ensure low porosity and high flexural strength. A solid loading of at least 40 vol% is required to avoid post-processing defects[3] and high shrinkage that enhances the generation of distortions in the product geometry after sintering. Some studies have used high viscosity (up to 18.8 Pa.s) ceramic slurries in equipment with special system for forming new layers such as Admaflex 130 (ADMATEC Europe BV, The Netherlands)[5] and Ceramaker 300 system (3D CERAM, France)[6]. Stability is a key factor in the performance of ceramic slurries for VP additive manufacturing[4,9,10]

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