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Stereolithography . Felix Cabrera Day 1, 5/6. What is Stereolithography?.
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Stereolithography Felix Cabrera Day 1, 5/6
What is Stereolithography? • Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process using a liquid UV-curable photopolymer "resin" and a UV laser to build parts layer at a time. On each layer, the laser beam traces a part cross-section pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. • Stereolithography is used to create models, prototypes, patterns and in some instances production parts.
Stereolithography Process • The Process first starts at a simple computer on a Computer Aided Design software (CAD) where the model, prototype is designed. The design is then sent to the machine where it starts. The 3-D printer's laser "paints" one of the layers, exposing the liquid plastic in the tank and hardening it the platform drops down into the tank a fraction of a millimeter and the laser paints the next layer, this happens over and over until the model is complete.
The start of Stereolithopgraphy • The word stereolithography was first defined in 1986 by Charles W. Hull, he described a concentrated beam of ultraviolet light focused onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photopolymer. The light beam draws the object onto the surface of the liquid layer by layer, causing polymerization or crosslinking to give a solid. Because of the difficulty this method would only be completed by computers.
First Stereolithography • Charles W. Hull founded the commercialization of stereolithography in 1986 also, the company to do this was 3D Systems Inc. Charles Hall
Gains/Drawbacks • Stereolithography is a great advantage to the industrial word because a model can be designed and made from anywhere from hours to days instead of months. • Wile this process can be done quickly the cost of this can become costly, with the machine ranging from in the thousands to hundred thousand. The cost of the photo-curable resin can also cost from 80 to 200 dollars per liter
References • http://computer.howstuffworks.com/stereolith2.htm • http://www.dpt-fast.com/rapidprototyping/sla.asp • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography