Actinic-Curable Inkjet Ink for 3D Printing Softness Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3D printing methods using inkjet systems produce soft modeled objects that are brittle and prone to destruction during support material removal or bending, lacking sufficient tensile strength and softness.
Innovation Solution
An actinic ray-curable-type inkjet ink composition comprising acrylate monomers with specific glass transition temperatures, bifunctional acrylate oligomers, and an acylphosphine oxide compound, optimized for 3D printing, which includes a heating step, jetting, and curing process to form layers with improved mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional soft modeling material is used in inkjet system 3D printing, then the modeled object has softness, but the modeled object becomes brittle and is destroyed during support material removal or bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite photopolymerization system combining Type I photopolymerization initiator (acylphosphine oxide compound) and Type II photopolymerization initiator together with specific acrylate monomers and oligomers. This composite material approach creates a synergistic effect that resolves the contradiction between softness and tensile strength, producing modeled objects that are both soft and resistant to brittleness during support removal and bending.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent carefully controls the mass ratios of components: acrylate monomer A (20-80 mass%), acrylate monomer B (10-50 mass%), and acrylate oligomer (5-30 mass%). By optimizing these parameter ranges, the invention achieves the desired balance between softness and tensile strength, preventing brittleness while maintaining moldability.
2Strength
If the modeled object has high softness, then it is flexible, but it is easily destroyed by stretching or bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite formulation combining monomers with different glass transition temperatures (monomer A with Tg 25-120°C and monomer B with Tg -60 to 25°C) along with oligomers. This composite approach allows the material to exhibit both flexibility and resistance to stretching/bending, resolving the contradiction between softness and mechanical durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates different local properties within the material system by combining components with distinct characteristics. The oligomer provides structural integrity for resistance to stretching and bending, while the monomers contribute to overall softness and flexibility, achieving local quality differentiation that resolves the contradiction.
3Strength
If the mass content of bifunctional or higher-functional acrylate compounds is increased, then the tensile strength improves, but the softness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite photopolymerization system with both Type I and Type II initiators combined with a balanced formulation of monomers and oligomers. This composite approach enables achieving adequate tensile strength while maintaining softness, as the synergistic interaction between components compensates for the trade-off between crosslinking density and material softness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the mass content of bifunctional or higher-functional acrylate compounds to be 15% by mass or less of the total ink composition. This parameter control, combined with the specific ratios of monomers and oligomers, achieves the optimal balance between tensile strength and softness, preventing excessive crosslinking that would reduce softness while maintaining sufficient strength.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides three-dimensional objects with enhanced softness and tensile strength, reducing the likelihood of failure during support material removal and bending, while maintaining excellent moldability and formability.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid surface of a photocurable composition contained in a container is selectively irradiated with light, for example, ultraviolet laser light, so as to obtain a cured layer
Implementation Method 2
a heating step of heating an ink composition to a temperature in the range of 40°C to 80°C
Data Source
AI summary
An actinic ray-curable-type inkjet ink composition for 3D printing includes an acrylate monomer A capable of forming a homopolymer having a glass transition temperature of from 25°C to 120°C; an acrylate monomer B capable of forming a homopolymer having a glass transition temperature of -60° or higher and lower than 25°C; a bifunctional acrylate oligomer C having a weight-average molecular weight of from 2,000 to 20,000; and an acylphosphine oxide compound, in which the mass content of bifunctional or higher-functional acrylate compounds is 15% by mass or less.