Stereolithography with micron scale control of properties
Stereolithography with micron scale control of properties is described herein. In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for 3-D printing of a material can include generating a functional relation predicting one or more physical properties of the material resulting from printing parameters; algebraically or numerically solving the functional relation to generate a second functional relation predicting expected printing parameters resulting in the one or more physical properties; and printing the material via a photopolymerization printer according to the set of printing parameters determined by the second functional relation.
1 . A computer-implemented method for 3-dimensional (3-D) printing of a material, the method comprising:
generating a functional relation predicting one or more physical properties of the material resulting from printing parameters, wherein the one or more physical properties of the material is selected from the group consisting of a cross link density, a swellability, a Young's modulus, a diffusivity coefficient, a shear modulus, a stiffness factor, a viscoelasticity factor, and a coefficient of friction;
algebraically or numerically inverting the functional relation to generate a second functional relation;
determining a set of printing parameters from the second functional relation; and
printing the material having the one or more physical properties via a vat photopolymerization printer according to the set of determined printing parameters.
2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the printing is further implemented according to a printing pattern on the micron scale.
3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein generating the functional relation further comprises:
measuring or calculating a physical property of the material as a function of exposure time, post-exposure time, and light intensity;
identifying an equation to model the measurements or calculations which include a number of unknown parameters; and
fitting the measurements or calculations to the model to estimate values of the unknown parameters.
4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the equation for modeling the physical property of the material comprises:
C
p
=
x
3
+
ax
+
b
x
3
+
cx
+
d
where a, b, c, and d are fitting parameters, and x is a variable of the exposure time, post-exposure time, and light intensity.
5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the set of printing parameters comprises at least one of a layer thickness, an energy dose, an optical intensity, an exposure time, and a cure depth.
6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the vat photopolymerization printer is a stereolithography (SLA) printer or a digital light processing (DLP) printer.
7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein printing the material comprises printing multiple layers of the material.
8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the material originates from a single vat of precursor solution or resin of the printer.
9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein printing the material results in a functionally graded material (FGM).
10 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions executable by a processor for printing a material, the instructions comprising:
generating a functional relation predicting one or more physical properties of the material resulting from printing parameters, wherein the one or more physical properties of the material is selected from the group consisting of a cross link density, a swellability, a Young's modulus, a diffusivity coefficient, a shear modulus, a stiffness factor, a viscoelasticity factor, and a coefficient of friction;
algebraically or numerically inverting the functional relation to generate a second functional relation;
determining a set of printing parameters from the second functional relation; and
printing the material having the one or more physical properties via a vat photopolymerization printer according to the set of determined printing parameters.
11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the printing is further implemented according to a printing pattern on the micron scale.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein
generating the functional relation further comprises:
measuring or calculating a physical property of the material as a function of exposure time, post-exposure time, and light intensity;
identifying an equation to model the measurements or calculations which include a number of unknown parameters; and
fitting the measurements or calculations to the model to estimate values of the unknown parameters.