Shelf-Stable 3D Printing Build Materials for High Heat Deflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing 3D printing build materials with high glass transition and heat deflection temperatures are unstable and prone to crystallization or phase separation during storage, and hybrid compositions require multiple processing steps, including light and heat curing, which can discolor the article.
Innovation Solution
A polymerizable liquid comprising at least 20% isocyanurate polyacrylate, a photoinitiator, and a crystallization inhibitor, which maintains stability for 28 days at 5-10°C and achieves high heat deflection temperatures through light curing alone, without additional thermal processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If monomeric species with high glass transition temperature and high heat deflection temperature are used, then the printed article exhibits high temperature properties, but the build material becomes unstable and undergoes crystallization or phase separation during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite build material system combining multiple monomeric species with different functional properties. Specifically, it uses a mixture of monomers including those that contribute to high heat deflection temperature (such as cyclic carbonates and heterocycles) alongside other monomers that provide storage stability. This composite approach allows the material to achieve Tg ≥ 100°C and heat deflection temperature ≥ 100°C while maintaining stability during storage, resolving the contradiction between high temperature performance and storage stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters of the build material by selecting specific monomeric species with controlled molecular weights, functional groups, and reactivity ratios. By adjusting the composition ratios and molecular characteristics of the monomers, the patent achieves a balance where the material maintains high glass transition temperature (Tg ≥ 100°C) and heat deflection temperature while preventing crystallization and phase separation during storage. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between temperature performance and storage stability.
2Temperature
If hybrid compositions comprising light curable components and heat curable components are used, then the build material can achieve high temperature properties, but multiple processing steps are required and the heat curing step can brown or discolor the article
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heat curing step from the processing sequence by using monomeric species that can be cured exclusively through light initiation. The build material comprises light-curable monomers (such as acrylates, vinyl ethers, and heterocycles with unsaturated substituents) that polymerize upon light exposure without requiring subsequent thermal processing. This eliminates the browning and discoloration issues associated with heat curing while maintaining high heat deflection temperature properties (≥ 100°C) in the final printed article, thereby reducing processing steps and eliminating the need for complex hybrid curing protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal curing mechanism with a photopolymerization mechanism. Instead of using heat-curable components that require thermal energy input and subsequent heat treatment, the patent employs monomers with unsaturated bonds (acrylate, methacrylate, vinyl ether groups) that undergo rapid polymerization when exposed to light of appropriate wavelength. This substitution of the curing mechanism eliminates the need for heat curing steps, preventing browning and discoloration while achieving the desired high temperature performance through the intrinsic properties of the cured polymer network.
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 shelf-stable 3D printing materials that maintain high heat deflection temperatures up to 250°C and eliminate the need for additional thermal curing, reducing processing time and costs while ensuring material stability.
Implementation Method 1
The polymerizable liquid is cured with light to form the article
Implementation Method 2
a crystallization inhibitor component comprising monomeric curable material, oligomeric curable material or mixtures thereof, wherein the polymerizable liquid does not exhibit crystallization over a period of 28 days at a storage temperature of 5-10° C.
Data Source
AI summary
Build materials for 3D printing applications are described herein which, in some embodiments, comprise monomeric species operable for producing articles with high Tg and/or high heat deflection temperature while maintaining shelf stability. In one aspect, a polymerizable liquid comprises at least 20 weight percent isocyanurate polyacrylate; a photoinitiator component; and a crystallization inhibitor component comprising monomeric curable material, oligomeric curable material or mixtures thereof, wherein the polymerizable liquid does not exhibit crystallization over a period of 28 days at a storage temperature of 5-10° C.