Optimisation of scanning parameters in stereolithography for dental zirconia ceramic fabrication

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to improve the mechanical performance of stereolithography for dental zirconia ceramic fabrication by optimising the scanning parameters, including laser power, hatching space, and scanning speed. An L9(4³) orthogonal array, based on the Taguchi method, was designed with a minimum number of experimental runs. The analysis of variance was conducted to examine the significant scanning parameters affecting the performance (flexural strength and density) of the final sintered ceramic parts. The results showed that laser power significantly affected flexural strength, but none of the three parameters had a significant influence on the density. The optimised scanning parameters were as follows: laser power, 0.45 W; hatching space, 25 µm; scanning speed, 750 mm s^–1. The flexural strength and density reached 978.05 ± 96.23 MPa and 98.42 ± 0.73%, respectively. The flexural strength had been greatly improved in this study, which may be suitable for practical use in dental zirconia ceramic fabrication.

KEYWORDS:

• Ceramic
• zirconia
• dental
• stereolithography
• Taguchi method
• scanning parameter

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Institute of 3D Jetting Technology, Institute of Kunshan Industrial Technology for supplying some of the materials and machines used in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Shanghai Summit & Plateau Disciplines under grant number2014; National Key R&D Program of China under grant number2018YFB1106900; and 2018 ‘3D snowball’ Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine under grant number GXQ201811.