• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.219-220
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• 2007

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.119-127
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• 2007

Recently, microstructures fabricated using microstereolithography technology have been used in the biological, medical and mechanical fields. Microstereolithography can fabricate real 3D microstructures with fine features, although there is presently a limited number of materials available for use in the process. Deformation of the fine features on a fabricated microstructure remains a critical issue for successful part fabrication, and part deformation can occur during rinsing or during fabrication as a result of fluid flow forces that occur during movement of mechanical parts of the system. Deformation can result in failure to fabricate a particular feature by breaking the feature completely, spatial deflection of the feature, or attaching the feature to neighboring microstructures. To improve mechanical strength of fabricated microstructures, a clay nanocomposite can be used. In particular, a high-aspect ratio microstructure can be fabricated without distortion using photocurable liquid resin containing a clay nanocomposite. In this paper, a clay nanocomposite was blended with a photocurable liquid resin to solve the deformation problem that occurs during fabrication and rinsing. An optimal mixture ratio of a clay nanocomposite was found through tensile testing and the minimal allowable distance between microstructures was found through fabrication experimentation. Finally, using these results, high-aspect ratio microstructures were fabricated using a clay nanocomposite resin without distortion.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.6 s.183
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• pp.174-179
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• 2006

The curing characteristics of a photocurable resin are critical factors that often decide the ultimate resolution and structural sharpness of a final product fabricated by microstereolithography$(\mu-STL)$. In this study, we investigated the curing characteristics of the FA1260T photopolymer under a visible laser light of 42nm wavelength. Modification of the curing property of the FA1260T is attempted to reduce the cure depth $(D_c)$ by adding a radical quencher to the resin. Also, an organic solvent was used to reduce the resin viscosity for an improvement of the flatness of the liquid surface during layer-by-layer curing. As a result, the minimum $D_c$ has been reduced over a factor of 3 with no abrupt increase. Samples of three dimensional microstructures fabricated using the modified FA1260T are presented.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1265-1270
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• 2007

Conventional methods for fabricating three-dimensional (3-D) scaffolds have substantial limitations. In this paper, we present 3-D scaffolds that can be made repeatedly with the same dimensions using a microstereolithography system. This system allows the fabrication of a pre-designed internal structure, such as pore size and porosity, by stacking photopolymerized materials. The scaffolds must be manufactured in a material that is biocompatible and biodegradable. In this regard, we synthesized liquid photocurable biodegradable TMC/TMP, followed by acrylation at terminal ends. And also, solidification properties of TMC/TMP polymer are to be obtained through experiments. Cell adhesion to scaffolds significantly affects tissue regeneration. As a typical example, we seeded chondrocytes on two types of 3-D scaffold and compared the adhesion results. Based on these results, the scaffold geometry is one of the most important factors in chondrocyte adhesion. These 3-D scaffolds could be key factors for studying cell behavior in complex environments and eventually lead to the optimum design of scaffolds for the regeneration of various tissues, such as cartilage and bone.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.8 s.197
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• pp.138-143
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• 2007

Microstereolithography technology is similar to the conventional stereolithography process and enables to fabricate a complex 3D microstructure. This is divided into scanning and projection type according to aiming at precision and fabrication speed. The scanning MSL fabricates each layer using position control of laser spot on the resin surface, whereas the projection MSL fabricates one layer with one exposure using a mask. In the projection MSL, DMD used to generate dynamic pattern consists of $1024{\times}768$ micromirrors which have $13.68{\mu}m$ per side. The fabrication range and resolution are determined by the field of view of the DMD and the magnification of the projection lens. If using the projection lens with high power, very fine microstructures can be fabricated. In this paper, the projection MSL system adapted to a large surface for array-type fabrication is presented. This system covers the meso range, which is defined as the intermediate range between micro and macro, with a resolution of a few ${\mu}m$. The fabrication of array-type microstructures has been demonstrated to verify the performance of implemented system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.491-492
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• 2006

In the microstereolithography which can make 3-D microstructures, curing depth is different according to exposure energy. Curing depth has to be controlled to fabricate complex 3-D microstructures with overhang shape. It becomes increases when the exposure energy increases. And photocurable resin is cured when the exposure energy is bigger than critical energy. So optimal exposure energy has to be found to fabricate overhang structures without being gel. To make thinner layer, UV absorber is used and exposure pattern is changed. In this paper, we find curing characteristics according to exposure energy, and fabricate microstructures with overhang shape.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1722-1729
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• 2006

Predicting the mechanical properties of the 3-D scaffold using finite element method (FEM) simulation is important to the practical application of tissue engineering. However, the porous structure of the scaffold complicates computer simulations, and calculating scaffold models at the pore level is time-consuming. In some cases, the demands of the procedure are too high for a computer to run the standard code. To address this problem, the representative volume element (RVE) theory was introduced, but studies on RVE modeling applied to the 3-D scaffold model have not been focused. In this paper, we propose an improved FEM-based RVE modeling strategy to better predict the mechanical properties of the scaffold prior to fabrication. To improve the precision of RVE modeling, we evaluated various RVE models of newly designed 3-D scaffolds using FEM simulation. The scaffolds were then constructed using microstereolithography technology, and their mechanical properties were measured for comparison.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.514-517
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• 2005

Microstereolithography(MSL) has evolved from the stereolithography technique, and is also based on a light-induced layer-stacking fabrication. Although integral MSL allows the manufacture of a complete layer by one irradiation only, there is a problem related with shape precision due to the light-intensity distribution of focused image. In this study, we developed the integral MSL apparatus using Digital Micromirror Device ($DMD^{TM})$, Texas Instruments) as dynamic pattern generator. It is composed of Xenon-Mecury lamp, optical devices, pattern generator, precision stage, controllers and the control program. Also, we have studied curing depth and width of photocurable resin according to the change of exposure energy.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.624-631
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• 2004

In this paper, new replication techniques fur a metal microcomponent having a real 3D shape were introduced. Helical gear was selected as one of a real 3D microcomponents for this study. The helical gear, which was made of photo-curable resin, was fabricated as a master pattern by microstereolithography technology. Then, a silicone rubber mold was fabricated from the master pattern. Lastly, a final bismuth alloy pattern was transferred from the silicone rubber mold by the microcasting process. In this paper, the replication technique is described in detail from the master pattern to the final pattern with some investigation on factors related to the technique.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.10a
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• pp.367-368
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• 2012