继续我们的系列State of Resin 3D Printing, Raymond Weitekamp,polySpectraFounder and CEO gives us his insights into the wider adoption of photopolymer-based 3D printing.
3D打印行业：您如何看待基于树脂的3D打印近年来？
Raymond Weitekamp: I’ve been excited to see the sheer number of new SLA/DLP/LCD printers now available in the world. As a chemist, I’ve also been really excited to see an increasing number of “open” printers – there is finally a healthy ecosystem of compatible software <> hardware <> resin. When we first started working in 3D printing, the Autodesk Ember (RIP) was the only open printer! Now, it is very clear that additive manufacturing end users are going to choose the best combination of software/hardware/chemistry for their specific applications, without the full solution stack needing to come from one company.
3D Printing Industry: What do you consider the next technology hurdles for photopolymer-based 3D printing to overcome?
Raymond Weitekamp：添加剂制造（DFAM）的过程简单性和设计。雷电竞充值与今天相比，光聚合物打印过程需要更接近“仅单击打印”。在生产环境中，仍需要太多的技巧，工具和解决方法。一旦简化了过程，社区就可以开始看到自动化的好处。令我惊讶的是，几乎没有人知道如何设计光聚合物打印。我想我们不能怪工程师，因为大多数光聚合物无法满足其产品耐用性要求，那么为什么他们会麻烦学习设计规则呢？尽管我们在Polyspectra的核心能力处于光聚合物化学方面，但我们需要成为DFAM的专家，只是为了帮助我们的客户取得成功。
3D Printing Industry: What applications of vat photopolymerization do you see as under-developed by the market, and why?
Raymond Weitekamp: Every application area other than dental, jewelry, and audiology is underdeveloped! While everyone has a press release for their 3D-printed _____, how many durable goods companies outside of these three areas are actually using photopolymer AM to manufacture their products? Almost none. Even at large organizations with big teams dedicated to AM, production is still the exception – almost everything is prototyping. Some of the applications that we are really excited about for our Cyclic Olefin Resin products are electrical connectors, fluidic manifolds, electronics housings, lightweight vehicle components, gears, impellers, heat-exchangers, long-lasting inserts for thermoplastic molding, robotic end-effectors, and personalized medical devices.
3D打印行业：在哪里开发了增值税光聚合技术的材料开发机会？
Raymond Weitekamp: One major opportunity is for the AM community to work with standards-setting organizations (such as FDA, FAA, NIST, IEEE, ASTM) to collaborate to create clear standards for photopolymer materials qualification. These regulatory hurdles didn’t matter in the days of rapid prototyping and rapid tooling – but they are a major barrier to the adoption of production additive manufacturing. There are so many innovations in photopolymerization, but without a clear set of guidelines for how to safely steward these innovations into products that will be directly used by everyday consumers, these innovations will never achieve their amazing potential.
Read more in this series:The State of Resin 3D Printing.
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