Evaluation of Stereolithography-Based Additive Manufacturing Technology for BaTiO<sub>3</sub> Ceramics at 465 nm

A piezoceramic BaTiO<sub>3</sub> material that is difficult for 3D printing was tested with a homemade laser-based stereolithography (SLA) setup. The high light absorbance of BaTiO<sub>3</sub> in the spectral range of 350–410 nm makes this material hardly usable with most com...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Svyatoslav Chugunov, Andrey Smirnov, Anastasia Kholodkova, Andrey Tikhonov, Oleg Dubinin, Igor Shishkovsky
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/1/412
Description
Summary:A piezoceramic BaTiO<sub>3</sub> material that is difficult for 3D printing was tested with a homemade laser-based stereolithography (SLA) setup. The high light absorbance of BaTiO<sub>3</sub> in the spectral range of 350–410 nm makes this material hardly usable with most commercial SLA 3D printers. The typical polymerization depth of BaTiO<sub>3</sub> ceramic pastes in this spectral range hardly reaches 30–50 µm for 40 vol % powder loading. A spectral change to 465 nm was realized in this work via a robot-based experimental SLA setup to improve the 3D printing efficiency. The ceramic paste was prepared from a preconditioned commercial BaTiO<sub>3</sub> powder and used for 3D printing. The paste’s polymerization was investigated with variation of powder fraction (10–55 vol %), speed of a laser beam (1–10 mm/s, at constant laser power), and a hatching spacing (100–1000 µm). The polymerization depths of over 100 µm were routinely reached with the 465 nm SLA for pastes having 55 vol % powder loading. The spectral shift from 350–410 nm spectral region to 465 nm reduced the light absorption by BaTiO<sub>3</sub> and remedied the photopolymerization process, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive optical analysis of prospective powders in SLA technology. Two multi-layered objects were 3D-printed to demonstrate the positive effect of the spectral shift.
ISSN:2076-3417