Effect of the preparation techniques of photopolymerizable ceramic slurry and printing parameters on the accuracy of 3D printed lattice structures

Abstract

Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology demonstrates the potential for manufacturing parts with complex structures for various engineering applications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate Al2O3 ceramic slurry preparation techniques, establish optimal processing window and assess the manufacturability and dimensional accuracy of lattice structures with CAD strut diameters of up to 500 μm. Two preparation techniques of the ceramic slurry were investigated. The slurry with the pre-treated powder showed appropriate rheological and photopolymerization behaviour. Full factorial Design of Experiments (DOE) was conducted to generate an experimental plan and assess the influence of the printing parameters on the dimensional accuracy. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed the exposure time, the exposure power, and the interaction effect of both had a significant influence on the dimensional accuracy of lattice strut diameters. The excess cure width was found to be dependent on the feature size, the energy dose and the layer thickness.