Curing behaviour and characteristics of shape memory polymers by uv based 3D printing

Abstract

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart materials that can change shape and revert back to its permanent shape upon external stimulus. The manufacturing of SMPs has been heavily reliant on conventional methods such as injection molding or resin transfer molding which largely restrict freedom in geometric complexity. Recently, there has been a radical shift in additive manufacturing (AM) to fabricate shape memory polymers (SMPs) with the capability to transform over time. However, most ‘4D ready’ materials are thermoplastic and there is limited availability of materials with built-in functionality for liquid based additive manufacturing systems. A study on using stereolithography (SL) process by laser scanning and projection based methods to fabricate SMPs was performed.