DFM analysis for stereolithography

In any product design process, DFM considerations are important to reduce iterations, time and material wastage.

Excessive setup specific material cost and lack of support for 3rd party resins is a major challenge with SLA process:.

When scaling up dimensions selectively to deal with expected stresses, post curing is done by further treatment with UV light and heat.

[2] Although advantageous to mechanical properties, the additional polymerization and cross linkage can result in shrinkage, warping and residual thermal stresses.

[5] Complex structures may fail to manufacture properly due to orientation which is not feasible resulting in undesirable stresses.

Design feasibility for stereolithography can be validated by analytical [6] as well as on the basis of simulation and/or guidelines [7] Rule-based considerations in DFM refer to certain criteria that the part has to meet in order to avoid failures during manufacturing.

Major considerations include: Part orientation is a very crucial decision in DFM analysis for SLA process.

With the completed formulation, the manufacturer is now able to solve the DFM problem, performing GT of the part design.

This helps in identification of DFM problems while exploring process plans by acting as a retrieval method.