Mechanisms of carbon dioxide laser stereolithography

Using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser focused onto a sample composed of epoxy, diethylene triamine and silica powder, the results showed that we were able to confine the heating in the material and, therefore, curing in all three dimensions. We solved the time-dependent heat equation in cylindrical coordinates using the Crank-Nicholson finite-difference method to predict the curing behavior of the resin as a function of the laser radiation conditions and devised a physical and chemical model that describes the process. The data show the curing rate as a function of temperature. Activation energy results were derived from differential scanning calorimetry.