Finite Element Analysis of Shrinkage Phenomena in Stereolithography and Development of a new hatching method

Shrinkage of stereolithographic parts is one of the most important issues in stereolithography. This shrinkage mostly occurs while post curing in UV chamber. This phenomenon is one of the main causes of inaccuracy in stereolithographic parts. In this paper a novel method is proposed to simulate the shrinkage in stereolithographic parts. The FE simulations are performed considering the curing curves caused by laser movement on resin surface with respect to different hatching methods in SLA machines. Specifically,STAR-WEAVE hatching method is simulated. Also a novel hatching method is proposed and the shrinkage is also investigated in this method. The results are clearly show that the shrinkage is reduced notably using this new hatching method.

Keywords:

Stereolithography , Shrinkage , FE Simulation