Supportability of a High-Yield-Stress Slurry in a New Stereolithography-Based Ceramic Fabrication Process

Abstract

In recent years, ceramic fabrication using stereolithography (SLA) has gained in popularity because of its high accuracy and density that can be achieved in the final part of production. One of the key challenges in ceramic SLA is that support structures are required for building overhanging features, whereas removing these support structures without damaging the components is difficult. In this research, a suspension-enclosing projection-stereolithography process is developed to overcome this challenge. This process uses a high-yield-stress ceramic slurry as the feedstock material and exploits the elastic force of the material to support overhanging features without the need for building additional support structures. Ceramic slurries with different solid loadings are studied to identify the rheological properties most suitable for supporting overhanging features. An analytical model of a double doctor-blade module is established to obtain uniform and thin recoating layers from a high-yield-stress slurry. Several test cases highlight the feasibility of using a high-yield-stress slurry to support overhanging features in SLA.