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Additive manufacturing. Continuous liquid interface production of 3D objects
John R Tumbleston1, David Shirvanyants1, Nikita Ermoshkin1
1Carbon3D Inc., Redwood City, CA 94063, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 18, 2015
Summary
Continuous liquid interface production enables rapid 3D printing of large polymer parts. This advanced additive manufacturing technique achieves high resolution and speeds up object fabrication significantly.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Traditional additive manufacturing (3D printing) relies on slow, layer-by-layer fabrication.
- Existing methods face limitations in speed and scalability for producing larger objects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for continuous, high-speed 3D printing of polymeric parts.
- To achieve high feature resolution and enable the fabrication of centimeter-scale monolithic objects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) with an oxygen-permeable window.
- Established a "dead zone" of inhibited photopolymerization at the liquid-solid interface.
- Controlled critical parameters to enable continuous part extraction.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated continuous fabrication of monolithic polymer parts up to tens of centimeters.
- Achieved feature resolution below 100 micrometers.
- Reached printing speeds of hundreds of millimeters per hour, reducing production time from hours to minutes.
Conclusions:
- Continuous liquid interface production offers a significant advancement over traditional 3D printing methods.
- This technique enables rapid, high-resolution manufacturing of large-scale polymer objects.
- The process holds potential for revolutionizing polymer part fabrication across various industries.
