SLA-250	Coffee machine

Applications

Stereolithography prototypes built from special Epoxy resins are used for the verification and optimization of a design, for a first functional testing and for presentation and marketing needs. Thanks to a high precision of 0.1% and the excellent surface quality, these models are suitable for various casting processes such as vacuum casting, Rapid Tooling or metal casting.

Infrastructure

Several machines (3D Systems) SLA-250, SLA-3500 and Viper si² (high resolution) with build envelopes of 254 x 254 x 254 mm³ to 350 x 350 x 400 mm³

Materials

To cover a large range of applications typically 7 - 8 of the most appropriate resins are constantly used at PROFORM. Some of them have been specifically optimized with respect to mechanical strength, flexibility, temperature and humidity resistance or high resolution. Our Resin Selector Guide helps you to find the right material(s) for your application !

The process

As a basis for the manufacturing, an STL file which digitally describes the prototype is needed. With special software, this object is sliced into a vast number of sections, each with a thickness of 0.05 - 0.25 mm.

A computer controlled laser beam "draws" those layers gradually onto the surface of a fluid photopolymer resin, whereby "drawing" means to initiate a local chemical reaction (polymerization). The polymerization depth fractionally exceeds the layer thickness in order to create a chemical bond between the respective layers. After each curing phase, the model is dipped into the resin by exactly one layer depth, whereupon it is freshly coated with liquid resin. The drawing of the next layer begins. After completion of the building process, the supports are removed. The model is once more cured with UV energy to fully harden. The model gets its final finish by hand.