Additive Manufacturing of SiOC,SiC, and Si3N4 Ceramic 3D Microstructures

Herein, the fabrication of hard ceramic SiOC 3D microstructures by precursor synthesis, laser lithography, and pyrolysis combination is proposed. Precursors are hybrid organosilicon materials prepared via sol–gel method using trimethoxymethylsilane and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate, which has an acrylate functional group enabling laser photopolymerization process. Hard 3D ceramic structures (hardness up to ≈15 GPa, reduced elastic modulus ≈105 GPa) from soft organometallic derivatives are obtained after high-temperature pyrolysis under nitrogen atmosphere. The advantage of the proposed method is the absence of shrinkage defects leading to a uniform repetitive decrease in the volume of printed microstructures. In contrast to slurry-based printing technology, the proposed method is focused on homogeneous monolithic molecular resins resulting in visual smooth surfaces of prepared microstructures. Moreover, the printing resolution of the proposed method is substantially improved through the absence of predispersed ceramic microparticles in mixtures, which is a necessary element in a slurry-based technology.     

非氧化物陶瓷光固化增材制造研究进展及展望

目前光固化3D打印技术因打印成型精度高而被广泛应用于陶瓷增材制造, 其中非氧化物陶瓷如碳化硅、氮化硅等因打印材料粉体折射率和吸光度比较高, 光固化陶瓷浆料存在分散稳定性差、入射光难穿透并产生光固化反应的固化层厚度低等问题, 导致其固含量很难提高甚至于无法打印成型。高固含量的非氧化物陶瓷打印成型成为光固化3D打印的主要难点, 吸引了广大学者对其光固化机理、粉体调控等机制进行研究。本文系统地总结了几种非氧化物陶瓷光固化浆料的制备、光固化成型、有机物去除及烧结致密化的研究工作, 并就如何对光敏树脂组成进行调节、对陶瓷粉体进行改性的几种方法进行分析与讨论, 针对性地提出创新方案来改善非氧化物陶瓷的浆料性能、光固化打印优化和致密化缺陷修复及性能提升, 最终推动大尺寸、复杂结构的非氧化物陶瓷部件光固化增材制造高精度制备技术的进步。     

3D Printing All‐Aromatic Polyimides using Mask‐Projection Stereolithography: Processing the Nonprocessable

High‐performance, all‐aromatic, insoluble, engineering thermoplastic polyimides, such as pyromellitic dianhydride and 4,4′‐oxydianiline (PMDA–ODA) (Kapton), exhibit exceptional thermal stability (up to ≈600 °C) and mechanical properties (Young's modulus exceeding 2 GPa). However, their thermal resistance, which is a consequence of the all‐aromatic molecular structure, prohibits processing using conventional techniques. Previous reports describe an energy‐intensive sintering technique as an alternative technique for processing polyimides with limited resolution and part fidelity. This study demonstrates the unprecedented 3D printing of PMDA–ODA using mask‐projection stereolithography, and the preparation of high‐resolution 3D structures without sacrificing bulk material properties. Synthesis of a soluble precursor polymer containing photo‐crosslinkable acrylate groups enables light‐induced, chemical crosslinking for spatial control in the gel state. Postprinting thermal treatment transforms the crosslinked precursor polymer to PMDA–ODA. The dimensional shrinkage is isotropic, and postprocessing preserves geometric integrity. Furthermore, large‐area mask‐projection scanning stereolithography demonstrates the scalability of 3D structures. These unique high‐performance 3D structures offer potential in fields ranging from water filtration and gas separation to automotive and aerospace technologies.     

3D打印陶瓷材料研究进展

作为新一代成型技术,3D打印技术具有操作简单、成型速度快、精度高等优点,而采用3D打印技术制备出的多功能化陶瓷零件,在建筑、工业、医学、航天航空等领域将会得到广泛的应用,其发展前景十分广阔。主要介绍了3D打印陶瓷方面的成型技术和材料,回顾了3D打印陶瓷的发展及国内外产业状况,并对可应用于3D陶瓷的打印技术和打印材料进行了展望。     

3D Printing of Ceramics with Controllable Green-Body Configuration Assisted by the Polyvinyl Alcohol-Based Physical Gels

Additive manufacturing of ceramics has received intense attention. In particular, 3D-printed ceramics with customized shapes are highly desirable in the chemical industry, aerospace, and biomedical engineering. Nevertheless, developing a simple and cost-effective process that shapes dense ceramics to complex geometries remains challenging because of the high hardness and low ductility of ceramic materials. Extrusion-based printing, such as direct ink writing (DIW), often requires supporting materials that pose additional difficulties during printing. Herein, a simple approach is developed to produce stretchable ceramic green bodies of zirconia and alumina for DIW. The ink is composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and an aqueous suspension of ceramic powders. Besides the colloidal network formed by the ceramic particles, PVA plays an important role in tuning the printability of the aqueous ink. Through a freeze-thaw process, PVA crystallizes to form physical networks. This strategy provides highly stretchable hydrogel green bodies that can be reprogrammed to complex geometries difficult for common DIW printing. The subsequent drying, debinding, and sintering processes produce ceramics with dense structures and fine mechanical properties. In short, this work demonstrates an efficient method for the DIW of ceramic parts that can be reprogrammed to complex geometries.     

Desktop‐Stereolithography 3D‐Printing of a Poly(dimethylsiloxane)‐Based Material with Sylgard‐184 Properties

The advantageous physiochemical properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) have made it an extremely useful material for prototyping in various technological, scientific, and clinical areas. However, PDMS molding is a manual procedure and requires tedious assembly steps, especially for 3D designs, thereby limiting its access and usability. On the other hand, automated digital manufacturing processes such as stereolithography (SL) enable true 3D design and fabrication. Here the formulation, characterization, and SL application of a 3D‐printable PDMS resin (3DP‐PDMS) based on commercially available PDMS‐methacrylate macromers, a high‐efficiency photoinitiator and a high‐absorbance photosensitizer, is reported. Using a desktop SL‐printer, optically transparent submillimeter structures and microfluidic channels are demonstrated. An optimized blend of PDMS‐methacrylate macromers is also used to SL‐print structures with mechanical properties similar to conventional thermally cured PDMS (Sylgard‐184). Furthermore, it is shown that SL‐printed 3DP‐PDMS substrates can be rendered suitable for mammalian cell culture. The 3DP‐PDMS resin enables assembly‐free, automated, digital manufacturing of PDMS, which should facilitate the prototyping of devices for microfluidics, organ‐on‐chip platforms, soft robotics, flexible electronics, and sensors, among others.     

烧结温度对3D打印硅基陶瓷型芯表面形貌及粗糙度的影响

单晶高温合金空心叶片是航空发动机的重要部件, 其内腔结构是采用陶瓷型芯制备的。随着航空发动机推重比提高, 型芯结构越来越复杂, 传统制备工艺受限, 光固化3D打印陶瓷型芯技术为复杂结构型芯的制备提供了一种可行方案。为了改善光固化3D打印陶瓷型芯因台阶效应导致的表面粗糙度较大的问题, 本研究利用固含量体积分数63%的硅基型芯浆料进行光固化3D打印型芯, 并在1100~1300 ℃对型芯素坯进行烧结, 对烧成的硅基陶瓷型芯的微观结构、元素分布、相组成、型芯打印面和打印堆积方向的表面形貌和粗糙度进行分析。研究发现型芯打印面平整, 无明显表面缺陷, 1100、1200和1300 ℃烧结型芯的打印面粗糙度分别为1.83、1.24和1.44 μm; 片层堆积方向的表面有片层结构特征, 片层间出现微裂纹, 1200 ℃以上烧结的型芯表面粗糙度达到空心叶片使用要求(R_a≤2.0 μm)。结果表明不同烧结温度会改变型芯烧结过程中的液相含量、莫来石生成量、莫来石生成形态和颗粒间玻璃相的分布, 从而对光固化3D打印硅基陶瓷型芯的表面粗糙度产生明显影响。光固化3D打印陶瓷型芯技术结合烧结工艺能制备出满足先进空心叶片用硅基陶瓷型芯表面要求的粗糙度。     

3D打印技术研究现状和关键技术EI北大核心CSCD

本文首先简要介绍了3D打印技术的基本原理及分类,然后重点介绍了有关金属材料3D打印的几种方法:电子束熔化成形(EBM)、激光选区熔化成形(SLM)、激光快速成形技术(LDMD)。简述了金属材料3D打印的应用领域及国内外发展情况及研究现状。文章最后结合国内外金属材料3D打印的研究现状,指出金属材料3D打印需要在打印用粉末、金属3D打印设备、3D打印零件无损检测方法、3D打印零件的失效行为和寿命预测等方面进行重点研究,并建立3D打印零件的无损检测标准规范以及3D打印材料全面力学性能数据库。     

陶瓷增材制造的研究现状与发展趋势

陶瓷材料具有优异的热学性能和力学性能,在众多领域显示出重要的应用前景。其固有的高强度、高硬度等性能却给陶瓷零件的成型带来了很多困难。将增材制造技术引入到陶瓷成型中将能有效克服上述困难,并为陶瓷材料复杂成型工艺提供了全新的可能性。本论文从陶瓷增材制造原料状态角度,综述了几种常见陶瓷增材制造技术的研究现状与进展,系统比较了各项技术在陶瓷领域应用的优缺点,并对今后陶瓷增材制造技术的发展进行了展望。     

Additive Manufacturing of Metal Structures at the Micrometer Scale

Currently, the focus of additive manufacturing (AM) is shifting from simple prototyping to actual production. One driving factor of this process is the ability of AM to build geometries that are not accessible by subtractive fabrication techniques. While these techniques often call for a geometry that is easiest to manufacture, AM enables the geometry required for best performance to be built by freeing the design process from restrictions imposed by traditional machining. At the micrometer scale, the design limitations of standard fabrication techniques are even more severe. Microscale AM thus holds great potential, as confirmed by the rapid success of commercial micro‐stereolithography tools as an enabling technology for a broad range of scientific applications. For metals, however, there is still no established AM solution at small scales. To tackle the limited resolution of standard metal AM methods (a few tens of micrometers at best), various new techniques aimed at the micrometer scale and below are presently under development. Here, we review these recent efforts. Specifically, we feature the techniques of direct ink writing, electrohydrodynamic printing, laser‐assisted electrophoretic deposition, laser‐induced forward transfer, local electroplating methods, laser‐induced photoreduction and focused electron or ion beam induced deposition. Although these methods have proven to facilitate the AM of metals with feature sizes in the range of 0.1–10 µm, they are still in a prototype stage and their potential is not fully explored yet. For instance, comprehensive studies of material availability and material properties are often lacking, yet compulsory for actual applications. We address these items while critically discussing and comparing the potential of current microscale metal AM techniques.     

金属选区激光熔化的研究现状

金属3D打印是目前增材制造技术中最具发展潜力和最前沿的技术。选区激光熔化(SLM)是金属3D打印的重要分支,在传统方法无法制造的复杂异型结构件及工件制造的快速响应上具有极大优势,可解决传统方法加工过程中存在的长周期、高成本、难加工等技术难题,加工出传统制造方式无法加工的复杂金属零件。主要分析总结了目前选区激光熔化所涉及的基本原理、成型设备、材料特性、工艺参数和制造过程中常见的孔隙、球化、应力应变等问题,最后对金属3D打印的发展前景进行了展望。     

Development of Bioimplants with 2D, 3D,and 4D Additive Manufacturing Materials

Over the past 30 years, additive manufacturing (AM) has developed rapidly and has demonstrated great potential in biomedical applications. AM is a materials-oriented manufacturing technology, since the solidification mechanism, architecture resolution, post-treatment process, and functional application are based on the materials to be printed. However, 3D printable materials are still quite limited for the fabrication of bioimplants. In this work, 2D/3D AM materials for bioimplants are reviewed. Furthermore, inspired by Tai Chi, a simple yet novel soft/rigid hybrid 4D AM concept is advanced to develop complex and dynamic biological structures in the human body based on 4D printing hybrid ceramic precursor/ceramic materials that were previously developed by our group. With the development of multi-material printing technology, the development of bioimplants and soft/rigid hybrid biological structures with 2D/3D/4D AM materials can be anticipated.     

Curing characteristics of shape memory polymers in 3D projection and laser stereolithography

The radical shift in 3D printing to fabricate soft active materials such as shape memory polymers (SMPs) has brought along other techniques in realising 4D printing. Stereolithography (SL) process has recently been one of the popular systems for printing SMPs. In this paper, the curing characteristics and behaviour of the SMPs fabricated via projection-type and laser-scanning-type SL process were analysed. Factors such as the UV exposure of the projection type and variation in resin compositions have significant differences in terms of energy density and curing depths when compared to the laser scanning type. Hence, theoretical calculations were made to determine the critical energy density and threshold penetration depth attainable, which enables newly developed SMP materials to be successfully printable using different types of UV-based 3D printing systems.