3D printed composites from a single resin by patterned light exposures
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorMichael Christopher Cole
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Abstract
Provided herein are processes for the generation of composite polymer materials utilizing a single resin. The processes utilize diffusion between a region undergoing a polymerization reaction preferentially polymerizing one monomer component and an unreactive region. Diffusion and subsequent/concurrent polymerization results in a higher concentration of the more reactive monomer component in the reacting region and a higher concentration of the less reactive monomer components in the unreactive region. The unreactive region may be later polymerized. In embodiments, photopolymerization is used and the regions are generated by a mask or other mechanism to pattern the light.
Claims29
A method of making a composite polymer composition from a single resin, the process comprising:
- providing a resin, the resin comprising a first monomer component and a second monomer component, the resin characterized by a resin ratio of the first monomer component to the second monomer component;
- polymerizing the first monomer component by exposing the resin to a first exposure of light;
- forming a first region having a first ratio of the first monomer component to the second monomer component, wherein the first region has a vertical dimension between 50 μm and 250 μm;
- and
- forming a second region having a second ratio of the first monomer component to the second monomer component, wherein the resin ratio, the first ratio, and the second ratio are different.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.