Abstract
Support structures and materials are indispensable components in many Additive Manufacturing (AM) systems in order to fabricate complex 3D structures. For inkjet-based AM techniques (known as Material Jetting), there is a paucity of studies on specific inks for fabricating such support structures. This limits the potential of fabricating complex 3D objects containing overhanging structures. In this paper, we investigate the use of Tripropylene Glycol Diacrylated (TPGDA) to prepare a thermally stable ink with reliable printability to produce removable support structures in an experimental Material Jetting system. The addition of TGME to the TPGDA was found to considerably reduce the modulus of the photocured structure from 575MPa down to 27MPa by forming micro-pores in the cured structure. The cured support structure was shown to be easily removed following the fabrication process. During TG-IR tests the T5% temperature of the support structure was above 150°C whilst the majority of decomposition happened around 400°C. Specimens containing overhanging structures (gate-like structure, propeller structure) were successfully manufactured to highlight the viability of the ink as a support material.
Highlights
Additive Manufacturing (AM), colloquially known as 3D Printing (3DP), is a manufacturing approach that enables the fabrication of a 3D structure on a layer by layer basis, usually from a computer-generated file
This paper focuses on the modification of Tripropylene Glycol Diacrylate (TPGDA) for the purposes of supporting structural materials during fabrication and post-manufacture removal
Since Triethylene glycol methyl ether (TGME) does not participate in the UV crosslink reaction, it is trapped inside the samples when the Tripropylene Glycol Diacrylated (TPGDA) cures
Summary
Additive Manufacturing (AM), colloquially known as 3D Printing (3DP), is a manufacturing approach that enables the fabrication of a 3D structure on a layer by layer basis, usually from a computer-generated file. The simplicity of the layer-by-layer approach, together with the freeform production methods that it offers, presents significant advantages in a wide range of fields, including biomedical, electronics and engineering structures [4,5,6,7,8,9]. This paper focuses on the modification of Tripropylene Glycol Diacrylate (TPGDA) for the purposes of supporting structural materials during fabrication and post-manufacture removal. TPGDA is a commonly used material principally exploited for its balance of dielectric and structural properties [26], whilst showing reliable jetting performance and good thermal stability. Evidence will be presented regarding the structural and thermal properties of the jetted materials and a demonstrator produced to illustrate that objects can be manufactured with this support
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