Additive manufacturing with vat polymerization method for precision polymer micro components production

Abstract

The direct fabrication of miniaturized polymer components by Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes is a remarkable method at the micro dimensional scale. However, the measurement of complex micro products and the evaluation of the related uncertainty are still particularly challenging and necessary in the micro AM field. In the DTU, a proprietary Vat Photopolymerization machine able to produce micro features has been designed, built and validated. This study evaluates the capability of the machine in terms of printed dimensions and the corresponding uncertainty assessment. For this purpose, two test parts with micro features of different geometries and dimensions have been designed and five samples of each test part have been printed. The dimensions of the micro features have been evaluated for quality control capability assessment and to stablish procedures for verification of AM machines.