SLA 3d printing method is widely used by manufacturing, medical, and jewelry industries for rapid prototyping and final products with high accuracy, durability, and smoothness. Just like other additive manufacturing technologies, the SLA 3D Printing process starts with a 3D CAD file developed in SolidWorks, Self CAD, Sculpt, or other CAD software programs.
SLA printers are equipped with a resin tray, a perforated mobile platform (Z axis), a scraping system (X axis), an ultraviolet laser, and a computer program to control the platform and UV laser. First, a thin layer of photopolymer is exposed above the Z axis for the perforated platform. The design file then starts printing as soon as the laser gets directed to the Z axis. The liquid resin gets hardened by the UV laser according to the 3D file and one layer is printed.
The platform is then lowered to expose the new layer of resin liquid. The laser repeats the process of tracing a cross-section of the object. The process is continued until all the layers required to print the object is completed. The three-dimensional object is exposed after raising the platform, which is rinsed of excess resin afterward. The object is then inserted into an ultraviolet oven to bake and plastic curing.