INJECTION STEREOLITHOGRAPHY METHOD FOR NET SHAPE FABRICATION OF REINFORCED CERAMIC COMPONENTS

THIS PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP A NEW COMPUTER CONTROLLED STEREOLITHOGRAPHY PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF REINFORCED CERAMIC COMPOSITE PARTS. PHASE I WILL DEMONSTRATE A WORKING SYSTEM THAT WILL DIRECTLY READ A COMPUTER CAD DRAWING OF A SIMPLE COMPONENT AND THEN GENERATE THE ACTUAL GREEN COMPOSITE PART. PHASE I WORK WILL INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION OF SYSTEM HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE, DEVELOPMENT OF CERAMIC SLURRY FORMULATIONS, DEVELOPMENT OF THE SLURRY DELIVERY AND INJECTION SYSTEM, AND DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATING PARAMETERS. PHASE II OF THE PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE APPLICATION OF A LASER CURING SYSTEM FOR INCREASED RESOLUTION OF FABRICATION. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - THIS PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP A NEW FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM INCORPORATING VERY LOW COST FOR SMALL VOLUMES, SMALL FLAW SIZE AND CAPABILITY FOR USE WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF CERAMIC COMPOSITE SYSTEMS.