Rapid Manufacturing Process

(PE 3)
Module-3 (Part – 1)

5th Sem
Mechanical Engg Dept
GCEK, Bhawanipatna (ODISHA)
 MODULE-III (16 hrs)
❖ Laminated object manufacturing (LOM)
❖ Solid ground curing (SGC)
❖ Repetitive masking and deposition.
❖ Beam interference solidification,
❖ Holographic interference solidification special topic on RP using metallic alloys,
❖ Programming in RP modelling, Slicing, Internal Hatching, Surface skin films, support
structure.
❖ Software for RP: STL files,
❖ Overview of Solid view, magics, imics, magic communicator, etc.
❖ Internet based software,
❖ Collaboration tools.
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)

❑ Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) developed by Helisys Inc. in 1985.

❑ LOM involved layer-by-layer lamination of paper material sheets, cut using a CO2
laser, each sheet representing one crosssectional layer of the CAD model of the part.
❑ This technology used a laser to cut out profiles from sheet paper, supplied from a
continuous roll, which formed the layers of the final part.
❑ Layers were bonded together using a heat-activated resin that was coated on one
surface of the paper.
❑ Once all the layers were bonded together the result was very much like a wooden
block.
❑ A hatch pattern cut into the excess material allowed the user to separate away waste
material and reveal the part.
❑ In LOM, the portion of the paper sheet which is not contained within the final part is
sliced into cubes of material using a crosshatch cutting operation.
❑ The process begins with a
computer slicing a 3D solid
model of the part into 2D
cross-sections. Input data is in
the STL file format.
❑ The thickness of the computer-
generated cross-section
corresponds to the thickness of
the sheet material. The sheets
can be 0.001–0.005 in. thick
and a winding and an
unwinding roll provide a ribbon
of the material.

❑ It is capable of producing parts that can be machined or sanded to provide good surface
finish, but since the parts are made from paper, they must be sealed from moisture
System Hardware

➢ The LOM system is currently available in two sizes, the LOM 1015 and the larger
LOM2030.
➢ The LOM 1015 can build parts up to 10" X 15" x 14", whereas the LOM2030 can build
parts up to 20" x 30" x 24".
➢ Parts built with LOM-Paper generally have a wood-like texture and appearance. The
build material has pressure and heat-sensitive adhesive on the backing, and comes in
various widths starting from 10 inches.
➢ The LOM operates from a PC workstation, which is provided with the LOM System
when purchased.
➢ The LOM Slice™ software provides the interface between the operator and the system.
➢ LOM doesn't require a pre-slice of the STL file, that is, once the parameters are loaded
into LOMSlice the STL file slices as the part builds. This process of continuous slicing
is called slice-on-the-fly.
Processing
➢ In a contour-cutting process, the material is positioned onto the building platform and
a heated roller moves across the surface of the material, bonding it to the stack as
shown in Figure a.
➢ An X–Y positioning table with mirrors and optics reflects and focuses the CO2 laser
beam, which cuts a profile of the part as shown in Figures b and c.
➢ The area of material surrounding the part profile is cut in a crosshatch pattern to
facilitate its removal later (Figure d).
➢ The excess material left on the building block acts as a support structure for the next
layer. Adjustments in the laser power and cutting speed enable it to cut through only
one layer at a time.
➢ The platform lowers to accommodate another layer of sheet material as shown in
Figure e, in which the rolls advance, and the thermal roller bonds to the stack as
shown in Figure f.
➢ A new layer of material is then bonded to the top of the previously cut layer. The laser
cuts another cross-section as in Figure g and this process continues until the part is
complete as shown in Figure h.
Advantages
➢ There is no need for a contour-cutting process to produce special support structures
because the support structure is the portion of the sheet that was not used as a portion of
the part.
➢ It is capable of producing large parts.
➢ Since the process cuts the contour sectional area in the top layer instead of processing
the entire area of the top layer, it is quick.
➢ Also, since it uses paper, there are no environmental concerns for material waste or part
destruction
Disadvantages
➢ The finish and accuracy are not as good as with some methods.
➢ The post-processing and the surface finish are a couple of the disadvantages of the
process.
➢ The produced parts require sealing in order to protect the part from moisture.
➢ The parts can also be a fire hazard for the same reason.
➢ The enclosed hollow features are difficult to produce when support material is trapped
inside the part
Solid Ground Curing
▪ A representation of a mask-based process is SGC, a process that was invented and
developed by Cubital Inc. of Israel.
▪ The primary material used for this process is resin and the secondary material used is
wax.
▪ It works on a principle similar to the previous stereolithography process, but in this
case, a whole layer is produced at a time.
▪ A mask-based process analyzes a CAD file and renders the object as a stack of slices.
The image of the working slice is ‘‘printed’’ on a glass photomask using an electrostatic
process similar to laser printing.
 Processing
▪ Spray a photosensitive resin on the platform (see Figure a): The object under
construction is given a coating of photopolymer (photosensitive) resin as it passes the
resin applicator station on its way to the exposure cell.

▪ Prepare photomask (Figure b): A mask is generated by electrostatically transferring the

toner in the required object cross-sectional image pattern to a glass plate at a specified
resolution. In this process, an electron gun writes a charge pattern on the plate that is
developed with toner. This forms a pattern, which is a negative image of the cross-
section.

▪ Cure-patterned resin (Figure c): A shutter is opened allowing the exposure light to pass
through the mask and quickly cure the photopolymer layer in the required pattern. In
other words, the photosensitive resin layer is exposed to UV light through the
photomask, and only this exposed portion is solidified and the remaining area is liquid
(Figure d).
▪ Because the light is so intense the layer is fully cured and no secondary curing operation
is necessary, as is the case with stereolithography. The glass mask is cleaned of toner
and discharged. A new mask is electro-photographically generated on the plate to repeat
the cycle.

▪ Vacuum-off liquid resin (Figure 6.50e): The object moves to the aerodynamic wiper
where any resin that was not hardened is vacuumed off and discarded (Figure f ).

▪ Fill with wax (Figure g): A thin layer of liquid wax is then spread over the entire layer,
filling the areas that previously held liquid polymer. The wax, which goes through a
cooling process, surrounds and supports the part.

▪ Mill the surface (Figure 6.50h): Once the wax solidifies, a milling cutter is used to
machine the extra wax from above the level of the photosensitive resin. The layer is
milled to the correct thickness and produces a flat surface ready for the next layer.
Assignment 2: Repetitive masking and deposition
➢ Introduction
➢ Process Details
➢ Processing
➢ Advantages
➢ disadvantages
➢ Application
Beam Interference Solidification,
▪ This process is based on the point-by-point solidification of photosensitive polymers
(contained in a transparent vat) at the intersection of two laser beams having different
wavelengths.

▪ The first laser excites the liquid polymer to the reversible metastable state which is
subsequently polymerized by the radiations from the second laser.

▪ The process is associated with various technical limitations such as insufficient

absorption of laser intensity at higher depths, shadowing effect of already solidified
material, and diffraction of laser lights leading to difficulties in obtaining the precise
intersection of the beam
Processing
▪ This process uses two
laser beams mounted at
right angles to each
other which emit light
at different frequencies
to polymerize resin in a
transparent vat.
▪ The first laser excites
the liquid to a
reversible metastable
state and then the
incidence of the second
beam polymerizes the
excited resin.
To date, no commercial applications of this process exist because there are still technical
difficulties to be solved:
▪ Shadows are cast from previously solidified sections.
▪ There is a problem with light absorption because the intensity of the lasers drops with
depth.
▪ It is hard to intersect the laser beams due to diffraction variations in the resin caused by
temperature gradients or solid sections
Holographic interference solidification special topic on RP using
metallic alloys
▪ A holographic image is projected into the resin causing an entire surface to solidify.

▪ Data is still obtained from the CAD model, although not as slices. The build space is
300x300x300 mm.

▪ There are no commercial systems available yet.

▪ In this process a holographic image is projected on a liquid photosensitive polymer
contained in a vat such that the entire surface of the polymer is solidified instead of
point-by-point solidification.
▪ In this case also the information is got through the CAD model, the CAD display.
▪ The spatial light
modulator is there
and the light is
passed this is the
storage material
object beam is
there, a reference
beam is there and
detector array is
there.