Elimination of delamination cracks in ceramics manufactured using LCD stereolithography

Abstract

LCD stereolithography of ceramics allows the creation of ceramic parts with unprecedented resolution for various applications from medical tooling to archeological restoration. However, the manufacturing of a delamination cracks-free sintered part using LCD stereolithography has been an arduous challenge in both industrial and academic research. This contribution is a guide for the elimination of such delamination cracks. Photo-rheology, instrumented indentation tests, UV/Vis spectrophotometry and multiple microscopy techniques were used to analyze the formation of delamination cracks and to identify their culprits. It was found that proper particle dispersion, sufficient air extraction, optimized slurry formulation, optimized printing parameters and sound design principles jointly contribute to the manufacturing of a delamination cracks-free ceramic part using LCD stereolithography. This research addresses each of the aforementioned factors, with the goal of improving the quality of ceramic parts and increasing their functionality for various applications.

Keywords

• LCD stereolithography
• Ceramics
• Delamination cracks