Digital Light Processing (DLP): Anisotropic Tensile Considerations

Digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) process used to produce layered parts via photopolymerization. Anisotropy is a common characteristic of parts produced by DLP. Furthermore, printing conditions affect widely the resulting mechanical properties. This paper shows the effect of three printing factors on the final mechanical properties of specimens manufactured using DLP 3D printing. A series of ISO compliant tensile test specimens were designed, printed and tested. The properties analyzed were the elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength, ultimate strain and printing time. Preliminary findings on design guidelines for Vat Photopolymerization processes are presented in addition to the economic effect of the studied parameters in terms of the total printing time.