Solid ground curing
Solid ground curing (SGC) is a photo-polymer-based
Technology
Solid ground curing utilizes the general process of hardening of photopolymers by a complete lighting and hardening of the entire surface, using specially prepared masks.[6] In SGC process, each layer of the prototype is cured by exposing to an ultra violet (UV) lamp instead of by laser scanning. So that, every portion in a layer are simultaneously cured and do not require any post-curing processes. The process contains the following steps.[7]
- The cross section of each slice layer is calculated based on the geometric model of the part and the desired layer thickness.
- The optical mask is generated conforming to each cross section.
- After leveling, the platform is covered with a thin layer of liquid photopolymer.
- The mask corresponding to the current layer is positioned over the surface of the liquid resin, and the resin is exposed to a high-power UV lamp.
- The residual liquid is removed from the workpiece by an aerodynamic wiper.
- A layer of melted wax is spread over the workpiece to fill voids. The wax is then solidified by applying a cold plate to it.
- The layer surface is trimmed to the desired thickness by a milling disk.
- The current workpiece is covered with a thin layer of liquid polymer and step 4 to 7 are repeated for each succeeding upper layer until the topmost layer has been processed.
- The wax is melted away upon completion of the part.
Advantages and disadvantages
The primary advantage of the solid ground curing system is that it does not require a support structure since wax is used to fill the voids, highly accurate products can be obtained.[8] The model produced by SGC process is comparatively accurate in the Z-direction because the layer is milled after each light-exposure process.[9] Although it offers good accuracy coupled with high throughput, it produces too much waste and its operating costs are comparatively high due to system complexity.[10]
References
- ^ The engineer: The rise of additive manufacturing(n.d.). Retrieved from
- ^ Gebhardt, I.A.(2003). Rapid Prototyping: Industrial Rapid Prototyping System: Prototyper: Solid Ground Curing – Cubital. (pp. 105-109)
- ^ Solid Ground Curing(n.d.). Retrieved from
- ^ Castle Island Co.. (2002, June 22). Solid Ground Curing. Retrieved from Archived 2004-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gebhardt, I.A.(2003). Rapid Prototyping: Industrial Rapid Prototyping System: Prototyper: Solid Ground Curing – Cubital. (pp. 105-109)
- ^ Rapid Prototyping: Rapid Ground Curing(n.d.). Retrieved from
- ^ Lee, K.W. (1999). Principles of CAD/CAM/CAE Systems: Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing: Solid Ground Curing (pp. 383-384).
- ^ Dolenc, A.(1994).An Overview Of Rapid Prototyping Technologies In Manufacturing:Solid Ground Curing. (p. 8)
- ^ Gebhardt, I.A.(2003). Rapid Prototyping: Industrial Rapid Prototyping System: Prototyper: Solid Ground Curing – Cubital. (pp. 105-109)
- ^ Rapid Ground Curing: An Introduction(n.d.). Retrieved from