Effect of UV post-curing on the mechanical properties of photopolymer resin in stereo-lithographic 3D printing

This research work focused on studying the effect of post-curing on the mechanical properties of stereolithography 3D-printed samples. These samples were subjected to different times of UV post-curing at 37 °C. The IRTF-ATR analysis showed that the UV post-curing acts to break the double bond contained in the acrylic structure of the residual monomers and oligomers and allow them to add to the polymer chains formed during printing and help to create cross-links between these chains. The mechanical performance of the different samples was evaluated using the tensile and impact test, where the results showed that the best mechanical properties were recorded by the samples that were post-cured for 60 min.