AUTOMATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF PRODUCTS MADE OF PHOTOPOLYMER MATERIALS

Abstract

The use of new modern structural materials that would improve the physical and mechanical properties of products, aggregates and components of agricultural machines will help to reduce the mass fraction of metals in their design. It was determined that the use of additive technologies in mechanical engineering is hindered by poor product quality due to the lack of automated control of the polymerization process in the production of 3D products. (Research purpose) The research purpose is developing an algorithm to the process of automated control of the technology of manufacturing products from photopolymers. (Materials and methods) A set of controlled parameters of the photopolymerization process was substantiated in the manufacture of parts using additive technologies, which were taken as polymerization time and the dynamics of temperature changes in the material. (Results and discussion) The results of the use of an automated photopolymerization process were given and its analysis was carried out on the example of a typical technological process for obtaining samples of polymer composites similar to natural organic materials. Thermal phenomena that occur when exposed to ultraviolet radiation during polymerization are described. We carried out experimental and industrial tests of the physical and mechanical properties of basic photopolymer resins, which in practice allowed us to investigate the operation of the algorithm of the process control system and conclude that all the indicators of the tested samples exceed in quality the values of samples from acrylic plastics made by the traditional method. (Conclusions) We have developed an algorithm for an automated system of extreme control of technological processes of manufacturing products using additive technologies using photopolymers and their composites. The beginning and end of the polymerization process were identified automatically, increasing the mechanical characteristics of the products. It has been shown that in the production of machine-building parts and, in particular, agricultural engineering, it is possible to use additive technologies.