DETAILED STEPS OF STEREO

LITHOGRAPHY PROCESS:
GEOMETRY INPUT
 The first step in the stereo lithography
process, which is virtually identical in all
the RP&M processes, is the generation of a
three-dimensional geometric model of part
to be fabricated.
 This geometric model should be a solid
model or a surface model at least.
 Thus a proper solid modeling system or
surface modeling system is a prerequisite
to using the SLA or other RP&M processes.
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GEOMETRY INPUT
 SLA or other RP&M devices are designed
to accept the model data in one fixed
format: called the STL format.
 An STL file represents an object as a
mesh of connected triangles.
 An object represented by a mesh of
triangles is called a tessellated object or a
faceted object.

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GEOMETRY INPUT
Figure 12.27(a) shows the solid model and
Figure 12.27(b) shows a tessellated model
of the cellular phone.

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 GEOMETRY INPUT
 In the STL file, the vertices of each triangle are listed
in an order that indicates which side of the triangle
contains the inside volume. The normal vector points
toward the exterior of the model, as shown in Figure
12.28 below, showing normal direction of a face in
STL file format.

(a) (b)

Figure 12.28 4
Support Structure
 Supports in the stereo lithography process are
analogous to workpiece holding devices, such as
the chuck, in machining.
 Supports are required in stereo lithography for the
following reasons.
 First, they ensure that the re-coater blade will
not strike the platform when the first (bottom)
layer is swept.
 Second, supports improve uniformity of layer
thickness regardless of any warpage in the
platform.
 Third, they provide a simple means of removing
the part from the platform upon its completion.
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Support Structure
 To satisfy these three goals a base support
should occupy at least the first 6.35 mm (for the
SLA-250) to 8.89 mm (for the SLA-5000) above
the platform.
 A common practice is to build the base support
in an "egg crate" pattern, as shown in Figure
12.33, for easy removal of the support.

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Support Structure
 Figure 12.33: Generation of an egg-crate pattern
for a base structure.

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Slice and Merge
 During the slice and merge stage, the part and
the supports are sectioned by the computer into
a series of parallel horizontal planes.
 The result is slice files that consist of cross
sections layered one on top of another.
 The distance between the cross sections is the
layer thickness.

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Slice and Merge
 The lower limit of the layer thickness is
determined by the control resolution of the
elevator while the upper limit is determined by
the laser intensity and its scanning speed.
 Once the slice files of the part and the supports
have been generated, they are merged so that
the part and the supports can be fabricated as
one piece.
 If multiple parts are to be built concurrently on
the same platform, as illustrated in Figure
12.34, the slice files of all the parts and the
supports are merged.

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Slice and Merge
 Figure 12.34: Example of merging two different parts

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Line-width compensation
 Just as the tool center location is offset by its
radius from the part boundary in the NC milling
operation, the laser in an SLA must also be
offset by half the line width toward the part
mass to generate accurate borders.
 Figure 12.38(a) illustrates the absence of line-
width compensation, and Figure 12.38(b)
illustrates the presence of line-width
compensation.

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Line-width compensation
 Figure 12.38: Illustration of line­width
compensation, (a) illustrates the absence of line-
width compensation, (b) illustrates the presence
of line-width compensation.

(a) (b) 12
Shrinkage compensation
factor
 Polymerization leads to an increase in density of
the material and thus a reduction in part volume.
 Thus it is necessary to enlarge the part to a
certain extent to compensate for the shrinkage
that occurs after solidification.
 The amount of enlargement is specified by the
shrinkage compensation factor provided by the
user.
 Determination of the shrinkage factor is
extremely difficult, requiring careful calculation
and solid experience.

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Part Building
 In this process, polymerization begins and a
physical, three-dimensional part is created. This
process consists of the following steps.
 Step 1: Leveling.
 Step 2: Deep dip. The platform is lowered so
that the uppermost surface of the previously
cured layer lies below the resin surface. This
is done to ensure that even those parts with
large flat areas-comparable in size to the
entire platform can be properly recoated. This
step takes about 11 seconds.

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Part Building
 Step 3: Elevate. The platform is elevated so
that the uppermost part layer lies above the
resin surface and one layer thickness below
the bottom edge of the re­coater blade. The
re-coater blade is located above the resin
surface, as illustrated in Figure 12.1. This
step takes about 6 seconds.
 Step 4: Sweep. The re-coater blade traverses
the vat from front to back, or vice versa, and
sweeps the excess resin from the part. The
default sweep period is 5 seconds

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Part Building
 Step 5: Move to build position. The platform is
lowered so that the top of the layer of recoated
resin is at the free surface level of the resin in
the vat. Thus the top of the previous cured
layer is below the free surface by one layer
thickness. This step takes about 2 seconds.
 Step 6: z-wait. The z-wait interval is intended
to give the fluid surface adequate time to
eliminate these non-uniformities. It ranges
from 15 to 30 seconds.
 Step 7: Laser drawing. When a planar
photopolymer resin surface is established,
laser drawing of each profile is started.
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Part Building
 12.1(a) Stereo Lithography Process: Part
Building

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Post-Processing
 The post-processing stage consists of three
steps:
 part removal and cleaning,

 post­
curing, and
 part finishing.

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SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FOR RP&M
 Operating software for RP&M has two distinct
components:
 part preparation software and

 process control, or build, software.

 Part preparation software handles tasks such as

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SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FOR RP&M
 The process control software uses the build file
produced in the preparation phase to control the
entire build process on an RP&M machine.
 This procedure is shown schematically in block
diagram 12.42.

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SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FOR RP&M

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SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FOR RP&M

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SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FOR RP&M

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