Influence of manufacturing parameters on the mechanical properties of projection stereolithography-manufactured specimens

This study focuses on the impact of different fabrication parameters (build orientation, layer thickness and post-curing time) on the mechanical properties of parts fabricated through projection stereolithography technology. A Titan 2 HR printer (Kudo3D Inc.(c)) was used to print the specimens. Three different resins have been investigated. Specimens have been organised in 7 families for each material. Besides the different chemical compositions of the resins, the results globally show that the most influential factor on the mechanical properties (ultimate tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break) is the build orientation. Contrarily, the effect of the post-curing time has proved to be highly dependent on the chemical composition of polymers, playing a significant role only for resins that do not complete the polymerisation process during printing and therefore require a subsequent treatment time. Layer thickness in this application has shown a relevant influence on the mechanical characteristics of the studied resins.