Interpenetrating Polymer Network for Controlling Properties of
3D-Printed Object in Additive Manufacturing

Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA), a popular method in Additive Manufacturing, offers good print quality and low energy consumption; however, there are limited choices of materials and properties for this method. In addition, residual stress and shrinkage during printing affects part fidelity. Therefore, this project aims to develop high performance thermoset resins for stereolithography that can fabricate parts with high fidelity and improve mechanical properties. Using interpenetrating polymer network (IPN), we can combine multi-materials that have high performance and low shrinkage. We hypothesize that IPN can reduce residual stress by pushing reaction to higher conversion while maintaining low modulus. We will investigate the effects of chemistry and processing parameters—such as light intensity, exposure time, and temperature—on thermal and mechanical properties and residual stress.