Thermal effects on stereolithography tools during injection moulding

In this work the changes to stereolithography (SL) resin mechanical properties during the injection moulding process were evaluated. A multi-impression SL mould was built and used to inject a series of small flat mouldings. The fixed half SL tool insert included recesses to accommodate tensile test specimens. Tensile test specimens made from SL resin were positioned in these recesses and plastic parts were injected. After injecting a predetermined number of mouldings, tensile tests were performed using the tensile test specimens. The results from the tensile tests showed that the thermal cycling encountered during the injection moulding process did not significantly affect the mechanical properties of the resin. Observations indicated that reducing the temperatures encountered in the tool may lead to longer tool life.