Design and optimization of a light-emitting diode projection micro-stereolithography three-dimensional manufacturing system
The rapid manufacture of complex three-dimensional micro-scale components has eluded researchers for decades. Several additive manufacturing options have been limited by either speed or the ability to fabricate true three-dimensional structures. Projection micro-stereolithography (PμSL) is a low cos...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
2013
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78303 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5713-629X |
| Summary: | The rapid manufacture of complex three-dimensional micro-scale components has eluded researchers for decades. Several additive manufacturing options have been limited by either speed or the ability to fabricate true three-dimensional structures. Projection micro-stereolithography (PμSL) is a low cost, high throughput additive fabrication technique capable of generating three-dimensional microstructures in a bottom-up, layer by layer fashion. The PμSL system is reliable and capable of manufacturing a variety of highly complex, three-dimensional structures from micro- to meso-scales with micro-scale architecture and submicron precision. Our PμSL system utilizes a reconfigurable digital mask and a 395 nm light-emitting diode (LED) array to polymerize a liquid monomer in a layer-by-layer manufacturing process. This paper discusses the critical process parameters that influence polymerization depth and structure quality. Experimental characterization and performance of the LED-based PμSL system for fabricating highly complex three-dimensional structures for a large range of applications is presented. |
|---|