Stereolithography of (meth)acrylate‐based photocurable resin: Thermal and mechanical properties

Abstract

AbstractAdditive manufacturing (AM) has attracted a lot of attention in the industry and studies due to the ability to fabricate parts in different sizes and shapes along with economic costs. Among the different three‐dimensional (3D) printing methods, stereolithography (SLA) is becoming an important method. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of different sub‐build orientations of an acrylate‐based 3D printing SLA rapid‐prototyping photosensitive resin concerning UV and thermal post‐curing on the thermal and mechanical properties. Key role of polymerization as a determining factor in the final mechanical and thermal properties was shown. The results indicate turning the mechanical properties of cured resin by different sub‐build orientations. Furthermore, post‐curing process was performed in order to complete the curing of unreacted monomers. The results show the important effect of thermal post‐curing on the mechanical properties. In addition, a polymerization up to 98% for thermal curing at 80°C was achieved. In addition, the maximum tensile strength for the maximum amount of polymerization was for sub‐building orientation of 45°, 0°, and 90°.