Stereolithography cure modelling and simulation

In this paper, a rigorous stereolithography (SL) cure model is presented that captures transient, thermal, and chemical effects that are ignored in typical threshold-based models. This new model incorporates photoinitiation rates, reaction rates, diffusion, and temperature distributions. Process simulations are performed using the finite element method with the software package FEMLAB. Representative results are included. Sensitivities of results to changes in resin compositions and other input parameters are explored. With this SL cure model, it is possible to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of monomer and polymer concentrations, molecular weights, cross-link densities, and degree of cure, which are necessary to characterise the cured part.