Topology optimisation for vat photopolymerization 3D printing of ceramics with flushing jet accessibility constraint
Jikai Liu, Chenghu Zhang, Bin Zou, Lei Li, Huangchao Yu
Abstract
For vat photopolymerization 3D printing technology with high-viscosity ceramic slurry, the cleaning of residual uncured slurry presents a challenging task for lattice-based porous structures. Hence, this study contributes a multi-scale topology optimisation method for lattice-solid hybrid structures dedicated to ceramic vat photopolymerization 3D printing. A novel flushing jet accessibility constraint is proposed, aiming to effectively remove the residual uncured slurry after finishing the vat photopolymerization. Specifically, a multi-material interpolation for graded lattices and solid materials is introduced to form the fundamental of topology optimisation. Then, a series of filtering and projection operations are developed to ensure the accessibility of flushing waters to every location that may have residual ceramic slurry. Accordingly, a multi-scale topology optimisation mathematical model is established and solved with the adjoint sensitivities. 2D and 3D numerical examples are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, a 3D printing experiment is performed to validate the full water jet accessibility of the optimised structural solution and one pillow bracket part is carried out as a practical application demonstration.