Photocurable elastomers with tunable mechanical properties for 3D digital light processing printing
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Photocurable elastomers with tunable mechanical properties for 3D digital light processing printing Kannaporn Pooput1 · Somruethai Channasanon1 · Passakorn Tesavibul1 · Pitchapa Pittayavinai1 · Wirun Taweelue1 Received: 25 March 2020 / Accepted: 11 September 2020 © The Polymer Society, Taipei 2020
Abstract Digital light processing (DLP), a subclass of vat photopolymerization, is one of the most efficient additive manufacturing (AM) techniques that can be used to print complex objects with high precision at a greater speed than those of the other AM processes. However, printed objects are typically brittle because networks of cured resins are highly crosslinked, thereby limiting their range of possible applications. Currently, only a few commercial photocurable elastomers used for DLP can produce materials with moderate tensile strain, poor strength, and low modulus. Herein, we present a simple method for preparing photocurable resins that not only exhibit a low viscosity at room temperature, but also demonstrate tunable elasticity and strength. These novel resins are prepared from commercially available acrylate-based oligomers and monomers, which are appropriately selected to achieve a variety of mechanical properties. Subsequenlty, key parameters are investigated, including the viscosity of the uncured resin, critical energy at which the resin begins to solidify (E c), depth of penetration of the curing light (Dp), and degree of curing. The viscosities of the developed resins range between 0.85 and 3.10 Pa s, and their curing and mechanical properties can be adjusted by varying the oligomer-to-monomer weight ratio. The Ec (6.9–9.2 mJ cm−2) and Dp (192–271 μm) of all the uncured resins are obtained from the working curves. The developed photoelastomers exhibit a wide range of tensile properties (tensile strain of 110–365%, tensile strength of 0.8–10 MPa, and modulus of 0.5–10 MPa), thereby facilitating their use in various applications. Keywords Photocurable elastomer · Digital light processing (DLP) · Low viscosity · Tunable mechanical properties
Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, allows the fabrication of customized 3D objects in a layerby-layer fashion. Its popularity has increased over the last 20 years as it can be used to produce complex structures at a microscopic scale without the need for molds. Several materials such as polymers, ceramics, metals, and composites can be used in AM, which makes it suitable for numerous applications including jewelry making, dentistry, prosthetic manufacturing, tissue engineering, soft robotics, electrical Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-020-02289-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Kannaporn Pooput [email protected] 1
National Metal Materials Technology Center (MTEC), 114 Phahonyothin Road, Khlong Nueng, 12120 Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, Thailand
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