Preparation and physical properties of photopolymer/SiO2 nanocomposite for rapid prototyping system

A photopolymer material was applied in liquid rapid prototyping (RP) machine. The prototype fabricated from photopolymer was difficult for storage due to volumetric shrinkage and deformation during curing. The prototype fabricated from photopolymer suffers from the volumetric shrinkage during curing and the continuing deformation for a creeping period after curing. Therefore, we used nano-SiO2 as a major additive to modify the physical properties of photopolymer. We also added appropriate dispersant to make nanoparticles distribute uniformly in order to reduce the phase separation in composite material. The experimental results showed that photopolymer/SiO2 nanocomposite can improve tensile strength and hardness by about 50% and offers better dimensional stability. Photopolymer/SiO2 nanocomposite can also increase the degradation temperature and shorten manufacturing time for RP processing. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.