Influence of Residual Monomer on Cracking in Ceramics Fabricated by Stereolithography

The conventional build methods for polymeric stereolithography intentionally leave small regions of uncured monomer. We show that for ceramic stereolithography, these regions of uncured monomer are associated with macrocracking during heating. The cracking is caused by strains arising from the thermal polymerization of residual monomer while heating. Cracking can be avoided by changing the build style to eliminate the residual monomer.