Research on Optimizing Build Parameters for Stereolithography Technology

The dimension accuracy in scanning plane of high-resolution stereolithography (SL) system with building parameters (laser beam scanning speed (factor A), cured line width compensation (factor B), hatch spacing (factor C) and the coefficient of resin's shrinkage compensation (CRSC, factor D)) were investigated in this study. A L27orthogonal array and signal-to-noise (S/N) were employed to analyze the effect of building parameters. Using Taguchi method for design of a robust experiment, the interactions among factors are also investigated. The experimental results indicate that hatch spacing, CRSC and AtimesC are recognized to make the most significant contribution to the overall performance. For the dimension accuracy, the optimal combination building parameters is A2B1C2D1 (i.e. laser beam scanning speed:450 mm/s, cured line width compensation:0.02 mm, hatch spacing:0.04 mm, CRSC:1.025). With the optimal factors combination, an error of 0.003 mm in scanning plane has been reached using the high-resolution SL system. Confirmation experiment results showed that the dimension accuracy has been significantly improved with the optimal factors combination.