Photopolymer

Development description

In stereolithography (SLA) technology a liquid layer of PPC turns into a hardened polymer layer under the action of a laser beam scanning the surface of the PPC in a special three- dimension reservoir. Under programmed laser beam energy control a successive replacement of a hardened PPC-layer by liquid one results in formation of a three-dimensional polymer item (model).

DSM Somos

DSM Somos® Solid Imaging Materials researches, develops, and markets solid imaging materials for the fabrication of 3-D parts described by digital data. Solid imaging materials are liquids that undergo a phase change from a liquid, to a solid when exposed to intense radiation, usually a rapidly-scanning laser beam.

Customers fabricate parts in solid imaging materials to verify designs, perform initial testing, and to make limited production runs. The parts are also used to help make the very expensive tools required for mass production.

Customers include virtually every industry involved in the design of new products, ranging from aerospace and auto companies to manufacturers of entertainment, telecommunications, and medical equipment.

A promising new application for solid imaging materials is the visualization of medical data by creating life-sized, extremely-accurate, models of human tissues and organs from digital CAT- and MRI-scan data. These models are used in surgical planning and fabricating prostheses.

The world-wide solid imaging materials business is growing at approximately 60% per year, and is at the forefront of the "digital revolution".