Stereolithography somos 7110 resin: mechanical behavior and fractography of parts post-cured by different methods

Different types of photopolymers, also called photosensitive resins. have been used in the stereolithography process to obtain parts with specific shapes and applications. Somos 7110 resin was used to build samples to study their thermal and mechanical behavior. Fractography analysis following tensile or impact tests, after exposure of samples to ultraviolet radiation or thermal treatment, was correlated with mechanical properties. Brittle fracture behavior was observed in all sampless studied and plastic deformation was present in some regions of green samples, showing layer ordering in the microstructure originating from the stereolithography process. The samples post-cured by conventional heating demonstrated improved mechanical properties and low defect susceptibility. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.