Design, Construction, and Validation of a VAT Top-Down Printer for Ceramic Additive Manufacturing

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) of ceramics by vat photopolymerization (VPP) is a process in which a slurry composed of a liquid photopolymer supercharged with ceramic particles is cured in layers in a vat by a light source located below (bottom-up) or above (top-down) the vat, resulting in a three-dimensional body, after organics removal and sintering resulting in a ceramic part. This work aims to carry out a developmental design and fabrication of a “top-down” VPP AM machine for ceramics. The criteria and boundaries of the project were: commercial DLP projector with high-pressure mercury lamp without a UV filter, layer deposition of 10 micrometers thick, vat with 75mm in diameter and 75 mm in height, spreading and leveling of layers by blades, Creation Workshop 1.0.0.75 software for control and operation of layers and movement of blades by stepper motors and also digital image projection. The result was accessible and reproducible equipment capable of depositing layers and controlling light exposure time, allowing the generation of complex bodies with their consolidated layers. This open-source project allows the community to gain experience, acquire resources, and build trust before investing in more advanced systems. Furthermore, it acts as a rich source of collaborative ideas and designs.