Analysis of UV Curing Strategy on Reaction Heat Control and Part Accuracy for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

In this research, the relationship between the curing strategies and geometrical accuracy of parts under UV light was investigated. An IR camera was utilized to monitor the process using different combinations of photosensitive resin and curing strategies. The influences of curing strategies on different material compositions were studied with single-factor analysis. With the different exposure frequencies of the UV light, the peak temperature was adjusted to avoid overheating. The three-dimensional geometry of casting tensile bars was measured to investigate the shrinkage and warpage during the curing process. Different material compositions were also selected to study the effects of the maximum temperature on the shrinkage of the parts. The findings of this work show that, with the same amount of energy input, a more fragmented exposure allows for a more controllable max temperature, while one-time exposure leads to a high temperature during the process. With the decrease of the released heat from the reaction, the shrinkage of the casting part has a slightly increasing tendency. Moreover, the warpage of the parts decreased drastically with the decrease of temperature. The addition of fillers enhances the control over temperature and increases the geometrical accuracy.