Dr. Paul Share, Advanced Materials Design

The formulation of UV curable compositions for 3D printing requires the simultaneous optimization of opposing properties. Increases in cure speed, desirable for manufacturing throughput, can lead to brittleness, curling, and storage instability. Increases in tensile strength and impact resistance, desirable for structural components, can lead to poor flexibility and low elongation. Increases in elongation, desirable for elastomers, can lead to surface tackiness and poor tear resistance. There is also a limited range of acceptable formulation viscosities unique to each 3D printing technology which further confines the optimization space. In this presentation, a systematic synthesis and statistical mixture design study of the effects of oligomer structure and monomer formulation composition on the resulting mechanical properties of UV cured systems will be described.