3D Printing Customized Optical Lens in Minutes

Area of Science:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Previous projection microstereolithography (PμSL) enabled rapid 3D printing of optical lenses but was limited by time-consuming resin recoating steps.
• The microcontinuous liquid interface production (CLIP) process was explored to eliminate recoating, but Teflon membranes caused surface roughness issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the speed and accuracy of 3D printing optical components.
• To develop a faster, high-resolution 3D printing method for optical lenses by addressing surface smoothness challenges.

Main Methods:

• Implemented the microcontinuous liquid interface production (CLIP) process to eliminate resin recoating.
• Utilized a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin film with nanoscopic porosities as a substitute for Teflon membranes to improve surface smoothness.
• Demonstrated 3D printing of a 3 mm high aspherical lens.

Main Results:

• Achieved a printing speed of 4.85 × 10^3 mm^3 h^-1, a 200-fold improvement over previous methods.
• Reduced surface roughness to 13.7 nm using the PDMS membrane.
• Successfully printed a 3 mm aspherical lens in approximately 2 minutes with an imaging resolution of 3.10 μm.

Conclusions:

• The developed method significantly improves the speed-accuracy trade-off in 3D printing optical components.
• This advancement enables the rapid fabrication of customized, high-resolution optical lenses.
• The use of PDMS membranes in CLIP offers a viable solution for achieving smooth surfaces in high-speed 3D printing.