49

Chapter J Characteri~tics and Capabilities t?{ RP Systems

48

RapiJ Mam!fiu.:turing
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solidified and arc referred to as skintill areas. Three layers are drawn with skintill
areas corresponding to the part surface to avoid the formution of 'pinholes' when the
supports arc removed and t(l prevent the upwards-facing horizontal surt:lccs from
sagging [Jacobs; 1995; Jacobs, 1996]. These skinfills r.upport the surhtcc which
means that the hatch spacing may he larger. ll also means that a smaller percentage
of the prototype is solid [Jacobs, 1996]. Vents and drains must be tksigncd into
these areas to allow the ext,css resin to bleed from the part. These paris will collapstquickly upou firing so that little stress is developed on th"' C'-'ntmie invcstm.~n! shdl.
thus preventing it from being damaged. Because QuickCast parts haw a large
surface area and the resin is hygroscopic, they should be used as quickly as pnssihk:
or stored in an area with contml,led humidity to prevcn! later distortion fiom water

summarised in Figure 3.(1.

Other companies have also developc.d RP systems based on the same principle of
polymer curing by employing ultraviolet lasers. In particular, the following
companies are prouucing SJ. systems: SONY, Computer Modelling and Fngin(:~ring
Tcdmology Inc. (established by Mitsuhishi Corp., NTT Data Corporation and A~ahi
Denka Kogyo K.K. in !990), Teijin Seiki Ltd., Meiko Co Ltd. and i\AROFLFX,
Jnc. rAarollex, 2000].
The advantages of SLA arc that it yields a surface finish comparable to that of NC
milling, is a well proven system with over 1000 machines in use worldwide and is
reasonably fast and accurate (Dickens, 1995; Ippolito ct al., 1995]. SL ~ystcm~ have
an accuracy of I 00 j.lm and can achieve layers 25 IJ.m thick [3D System.~. 19961.
To utilize the re~in vat fully and shorten production time, several parts may be built
atvncc.
'J'he disadvantages are that the material is expensive and toxic, has an unplcasnnl
odour, and must be shielded from light to avoid premature polyrnerisalion; there is
also only a limited choice of resins. The parts may be brittle and translucent and they
need supports which may adversely affect the surface finish when removed.
Changing tlie resin in the vat is a lengthy and costly procedure.

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3D Systems especially for the SL process. The material properties of these res ius are

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