Blow-Peel
To deliver the best possible performance for our customers, the engineers at Photocentric have spent 1000’s of hours developing proprietary technologies that enable consistent, high-quality prints to be produced at scale. Blow-Peel is a patented technology that features in our Liquid Crystal Titan and Magna 3D printers.
One of the largest challenges in bottom-up printing is the separation of each printed layer from the base of the resin vat. To introduce fresh resin under the print, ready for the next curing cycle, the part must be lifted and separated from the base of the vat.
The vat material is chosen for its non-stick properties, so there is no chemical adhesion, but there will be mechanical attraction. To fill the space created, the resin would have to travel instantaneously from the outer margin of the printed layer to its centre, and instead, the screen will lift to avoid creation of a partial vacuum, applying damaging forces to the screen. More viscous resins or large print areas exacerbate the problem.
Photocentric has patented a technique to solve this problem, our Blow-Peel release technology eliminates forces at separation and is vital in ensuring rapid, successful printing.
The screen plate has four holes in the corners connected to an air pump that instantly controls pressure. Before the print plate lifts, the pump blows air under the vat, separating the vat film from the screen removing all the forces at lift. After lift the pump removes the air, bringing the film back into contact with the screen.
1) Printed layer begins to form.
2) Air pump starts to blow air under the vat, separating the vat film from the screen.
3) Air is drawn out from between the vat film and the screen, ready for the next layer.