Design and manufacturing of integrated fluidic channels in glass parts by vat-photopolymerization additive manufacturing

Accurate manufacturing of integrated small-scale fluidic channels in glass structure is of great importance for chemical flow reactors. Vat-photopolymerization of fused silica glass is one of the most promising additive manufacturing technologies to fabricate such structures. It enables the fabrication of glass in a layer-by-layer manner, employing photocurable resin with glass particle fillers, followed by a subsequent thermal treatment to create transparent, fully dense parts. Due to the presence of solid particles, the dimensional accuracy of parts produced by this process is reduced by light scattering. This particularly affects the feasibility and accuracy of small channels, which limits their application as integrated fluidic channel in flow reactors although fused silica glass has excellent chemical and thermal stability. Appropriate printing conditions and rational design play a vital role in ensuring the accuracy of fluidic channels. In accordance with the principle of progressive complexity, this article presents a method to design and manufacture integrated small-scale fluidic channels in glass structures. The case study representing a complex fluidic channel demonstrates the implementation of manufacture and design parameters in a typical flow reactor unit. ... mehrThis work has great implications for designing integrated fluidic channels using particle filler-based vat-photopolymerization additive manufacturing process.