Continuous 3D printing from one single droplet

© 2020, The Author(s). 3D printing has become one of the most promising methods to construct delicate 3D structures. However, precision and material utilization efficiency are limited. Here, we propose a one-droplet 3D printing strategy to fabricate controllable 3D structures from a single droplet a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang, Yu, Dong, Zhichao, Li, Chuxin, Du, Huifeng, Fang, Nicholas X, Wu, Lei, Song, Yanlin
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/138727
Description
Summary:© 2020, The Author(s). 3D printing has become one of the most promising methods to construct delicate 3D structures. However, precision and material utilization efficiency are limited. Here, we propose a one-droplet 3D printing strategy to fabricate controllable 3D structures from a single droplet ascribing to the receding property of the three-phase contact line (TCL) of the resin droplet. The well-controlled dewetting force of liquid resin on the cured structure results in the minimization of liquid residue and the high wet and net material utilization efficiency in forming a droplet into a 3D structure. Additionally, extra curing induced protruding or stepped sidewalls under high printing speed, which require high UV intensity, can be prevented. The critical is the free contact surface property of the droplet system with the introduction of the receding TCL, which increased the inner droplet liquid circulation and reduces the adhesion properties among the liquid resin, cured resin, and resin vat.