Stereolithography for toy prototypes with complex geometries

Abstract

Stereo Lithography as one of the Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing techniques has been investigated for building 3D toy prototypes with complex geometries. A surface and solid models of the intricate toy parts were constructed by CAD Process. The design models were converted to STL files through an interface. The actual part building files were created after the models were sliced and the slice files were merged. Several toy parts were fabricated in different sliced thickness by CAM Process in which a liquid resin is converted to a solid polymer upon exposure to ultraviolet light of He-Cd laser. Comparing with the original manual fabricated technique, not only the built toy parts with complex geometry basically meet the requirements of toy company but also the StereoLithography has manifested the convincing advantages. However, the high cost production is still a barrier for the application in toy industry.Stereo Lithography as one of the Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing techniques has been investigated for building 3D toy prototypes with complex geometries. A surface and solid models of the intricate toy parts were constructed by CAD Process. The design models were converted to STL files through an interface. The actual part building files were created after the models were sliced and the slice files were merged. Several toy parts were fabricated in different sliced thickness by CAM Process in which a liquid resin is converted to a solid polymer upon exposure to ultraviolet light of He-Cd laser. Comparing with the original manual fabricated technique, not only the built toy parts with complex geometry basically meet the requirements of toy company but also the StereoLithography has manifested the convincing advantages. However, the high cost production is still a barrier for the application in toy industry.