A new, novel and additive manufacturing process that currently does not fit in any of the defined process types, but most closely resembles sheet lamination combined with projection-based vat photopolymerization.
A part is constructed one layer at a time by coating a viscous photopolymer resin on the underside of a clear sheet of plastic. That sheet is then moved horizontally over the build volume, and the part is raised up such that the previous build layer touches the photopolymer on the underside of the sheet. A projector is then used to solidify the photopolymer in the shape of the current build layer. The part is lowered and the unused resin is returned to the material supply vat. The process is repeated for each layer.
The photopolymer resin is much more viscous than used in vat photopolymerization, offering materials previously not available.
Abbreviated as VLM.
« Back to Glossary Index
