Study of the Solidification Dynamic of a Photocurable Resin by Photoacoustic

This paper reports on the photoacoustic (PA) study of a photopolymer (resin) that changes its physical properties when being irradiated with ultraviolet light from a xenon lamp. The wavelength range necessary for the curing of the resin, characterized by the PA technique, was found to be between 300 nm and 400 nm. PA measurements show a sigmoidal change of heat transport properties as a function of time during the curing process. By describing the PA signal evolution by a parametrized model, a characteristic curing time was introduced. The PA measurements were complemented with UV–Vis Spectroscopy, which was used to characterize the polymer in order to study the optical absorption. The proposed method can support the optimization of the settings of curing parameters in applications of stereolithography and 3D printing.