MICROSTEREOPHOTOLITHOGRAPHY USING A LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAY AS DYNAMICMASK-GENERATOR

A new laser microstereophotolithography process has been developed in our laboratory to manufacture three-dimensional parts with a high accu racy. As usual in laser stereophotolithography or laser microstereopho tolithography, the part is manufactured layer by layer by a light-indu ced space-resolved polymerization. Until now, in all the already exist ing microstereophotolithography devices a layer is manufactured vector by vector, by moving the part beneath the initiating light source whi ch remains motionless. We developed a simpler and easier process, in w hich we can manufacture an entire layer by irradiating its whole surfa ce only once: we used a liquid crystal display as a dynamic generator of masks. In the device we set up, we need only one mobile element, th e z translator, all the others are fixed. We manufactured several diff erent 3D microparts, in particular a piece of bevel microgearing with helicoidal cogs, the volume of which is less than half a cubic millime tre.