A 3D printing method based on the use of a single drop of resin

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and MIT, claim to have developed a 3D printing technique based on photopolymerization that uses only a drop of resin to design a part. Based on the Continuous Digital Light Processing (cDLP) method, it has already proven its effectiveness through various tests conducted by researchers. The process would greatly reduce the rate of wasted material, while keeping the same characteristics of resin.

Stereolithography is one of the oldest additive manufacturing methods on the market, offering high precision and a high level of detail. However, it is still limited by the possible volume of printing, even if some manufacturers seek to innovate in this area. For example, Azul3D has developed an ultra-fast, large format SLA machine. Today, there are several light-curing processes, such as DLP, which uses a light projector instead of a laser to harden the resin. Regardless of the method used, there is usually a post-processing step to remove the uncured resin from the printed part and ensure that the machine is cleaned well. A step that adds manufacturing time and increases the resin discard rate. This excess can limit print resolution and increase costs.

Only one drop of resin would be needed to 3D print the desired piece.

Given this observation, the research team developed a technique that would only use a single drop of resin. Inspired by the lotus and pitcher plants that collect and sink water spheres, their method works in a dynamic similar to that of a three-phase contact line (TCL). Specifically, a drop of resin is deposited on a photopolymerization plate, with ultraviolet light continuously projected underneath. During this time, the aluminum print bed placed above the curing interface lifts off of the plate with each printed layer.