Ultra-high throughput manufacturing process of 3D printed silica glass components with shrinkage ratio control over a wide range

Three-dimensional (3D) printing using photo-curable suspension is an indispensable approach for manufacturing silica glass components with on-demand structures. However, current processes suffer from prolonged firing times for debinding and sintering to avoid structural collapse. In addition, the overall shrinkage from printed to sintered parts has not been proactively controlled using rapid processing techniques. Here, we report an ultra-high throughput 3D printing method for silica glasses that involves simultaneous rapid firing and wide range shrinkage control. We have designed a suspension that possesses long-term stability and can undergo photo-curing through direct cross-linking of particles with small amounts of multifunctional acylates. Further, inspired by the unique nature of direct photo-cross-linking of particles by acrylates, as well as the geometrical correlations among particle sizes, concentrations, and average distances, we demonstrate that low-concentration nanoparticle suspensions can be 3D printed using stereolithographic approach. The 3D printed bodied from these suspensions can be dewaxed and sintered into dense silica glass components rapidly (100 °C min −1 ) with controllable shrinkage ratio over a wide range (28 % to 62 %). • Photo-curable suspension designed for high-throughput DLP-3D printing of SiO 2 glass. • 3D-printed bodies exhibiting large shrinkage during drying/sintering were fabricated. • 3D-printed bodies rapidly fired for dewaxing/sintering without structural collapse. • Linear shrinkage from the printed to sintered parts was controlled in a wide range. • High throughput processing and shrinkage control was achieved simultaneously.