Bridging experimentation and computation: OMSP for advanced acrylate characterization and digital photoresin design in vat photopolymerization

Vat photopolymerization (VPP) is an additive manufacturing method that requires the design of photocurable resins to act as feedstock and binder for the printing of parts, both monolithic and composite. The design of a suitable photoresin is costly and time-consuming. The development of one formulation requires the consumption of kilograms of costly materials, weeks of printing and performance testing, as well as the need to have developers with the expertise and knowledge of the materials used, making the development process cost thousands. This paper presents a new characterization methodology for acrylates that allows for the computerization of the photoresin formulation development process, reducing the timescale to less than a week. Okoruwa Maximum Saturation Potential (OMSP) is a methodology that uses attenuated total reflection (ATR-FTIR) to study the functional group of acrylates, assigning numerical outputs to characterize monomers, oligomers and formulations, allowing for more precise distinguishment between materials. It utilizes the principles of Gaussian normal distribution for the storage, recall, and computerization of acrylate data and formulation design without the need to database numerous files of spectral data to an average coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.97. The same characterization method can be used to define the potential reactivity of acrylate formulations without knowing the formulation components, something not possible when using properties such as functionality. This allows for modifications to be made to unknown formulations without prior knowledge of their contents. Validation studies were performed to define the boundaries of the operation of OMSP and assess the methodology’s reliability as a characterization tool. OMSP can confidently detect changes caused by the presence of various acrylates made to the photoresin system and distinguish between acrylates of the same viscosity and functionality. OMSP can compare digitally mixed formulations to physically mixed formulations and provides a high degree of accuracy (R2 of 0.9406 to 0.9964), highlighting the future potential for building foundations for artificial intelligence in VPP; the streamlining of photoresin formulation design; and transforming the way acrylates are characterized, selected, and used.