In a message dated 97-01-24 09:59:44 EST, you write:
<< Subject: resin
It would be nice if some sla resin mfg. would come up with a way to float
resin on some sort of medium. Since your only building off the surface of
the resin,you would only need maybe one inch of resin. This would give the
users the opportunity to keep different resins in stock for different
applications, without having the high cost of filling each vat.
Bart Huffman
Depuy
>>
Dear Mr. Huffman:
Someone has. A recent US patent issued to Hercules (5,573,721) describes
many variations of such a scheme of stereolithography. Paul Gillette
describes floating a layer of photopolymer on an immiscible liquid support
layer. I didn't see any examples of materials that might be used for the
application. There is the obvious benefit of less money invested in the vat
contents, but there are also potentially a number of others mentioned:
faster coverage of the previous layer;
lack of swelling due to lower time of object immersion in the photopolymer;
very thin photopolymer layers for higher precision;
possibility to heat the immiscible support liquid for faster curing;
faster and more complete layer curing.
The set of benefits seems very close to those mentioned in conjuction with
Laser 3D's equipment (France), which I don't believe has been revealed
publicly. Does Hercules sell photopolymers these days? Will they be going
into the systems business? Does anyone know what Laser 3D's system is like
or have a reference?
Anyway, I was impressed with the patent and thought this could lead to
interesting improvements in stereolithography.
Ed Grenda
AutoFab Systems
19 Pondview Road
Arlington, MA 02174 USA
617-646-6280 (voice or fax)
EdGrenda@aol.com (email)
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