Stereolithography (SLA) is an additive manufacturing process which enforces a vat of ultraviolet resins or ultraviolet laser to build layers one at a time.
Investment Casting is often the most practical and cost-effective method of creating steel components that utilize the SLA Rapid Prototyping process. The lost wax casting process will yield a net or near net shape that can meet the design needs of end users of castings. The drawback, however, is that the capital cost of building permanent tooling to replicate the patterns in wax on an ongoing basis can be challenging due to costs. Costs increase when the engineer is attempting to verify that the end product will work as predicted. Often times, a tool to create a 20-pound investment casting can approach nearly $10,000. The most effective solution to keep costs down is Rapid Prototyping.
Stereolithography Apparatus, or more commonly known as SLA, is a commercially Rapid Prototyping process which is still widely used today to provide better accuracy and finish to a surface than the other rapid prototyping technologies on the market.
The Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA) technique was originally developed by 3D Systems of Valencia, California back in 1986. SLA allows for a rapid prototyping service, turning a 3D CAD drawing into a solid object. Most SLA can be utilized as ace examples for infusion forming centre and depression embeds, thermoforming, brow shaping, and different metal throwing forms. Fast prototyping abuses an SLA Pattern, which can be created utilizing a CAD document. SLA is an example utilized as a part of the place of a wax design for the lost wax procedure of venture throwing. The outcome is a throwing that can be put to use to demonstrate the procedure without the substantial interest in changeless tooling.
Some benefits of utilizing an SLA Rapid Prototyping process are that it is:
· Inexpensive
· Does not require much time
· Uses a light-sensitive liquid polymer
· Requires no milling step or masking steps
· Investment casting patterns allow rapid production of metal prototypes
Investment casting companies have created castings for customers using the SLA Patterns across the nation. These investment companies utilize the SLA pattern and process it through the foundry in the same manner as the wax pattern. This has allowed their customers to evaluate the effectiveness of their overall design. Once verified, a decision can be made on investing in permanent tooling with the security of knowing the design functions properly with no additional changes needed.