Hopping Light Vat Photopolymerization for Multiscale Fabrication

Area of Science:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Photopolymerization
• Materials Science

Background:

• Fabricating 3D objects with microscale to macroscale features is challenging for additive manufacturing (AM).
• Existing AM processes face tradeoffs between feature resolution, build area, and printing speed.
• There is a need for advanced techniques to produce multiscale objects efficiently.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel projection-based AM process, hopping light vat photopolymerization (HL-VPP).
• To address the limitations of current AM methods in fabricating objects with features spanning micro- to macroscales.
• To achieve simultaneous large-area, high-speed, and high-resolution 3D printing.

Main Methods:

• Developed HL-VPP by synchronizing linear scanning projection with a galvo mirror's rotation.
• The projector moves continuously while a galvo mirror compensates for linear movement, creating synchronized hopping motion.
• Achieved a scanning speed of 13.5 mm/s with a 10 µm pixel size over a 200 mm build area.

Main Results:

• HL-VPP enables simultaneous large-area (over 200 mm), fast-speed (13.5 mm/s), and high-resolution (10 µm) fabrication.
• The process allows for significantly lower refresh rates without motion blur, decoupling efficiency from refresh rate limitations.
• Successfully fabricated multiscale objects, including microgrids and biomimetic structures, validating the process.

Conclusions:

• HL-VPP represents a significant advancement in vat photopolymerization (VPP) for multiscale 3D printing.
• The technique overcomes critical barriers in additive manufacturing, enabling efficient production of complex objects.
• This breakthrough is expected to expand VPP applications requiring macroscale parts with microscale features and enable super-fast curing in the future.