Using additive manufacturing (AM) as aid to manufacture parts with traditional manufacturing methods is one of the many applications of AM, yet one of the less investigated. In this article, for the first time, a way to produce soluble AM customizable sacrificial moulds for resin casting is explained. The moulds are produced through fused filament fabrication using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as raw material. After curing, the moulds are dissolved in water leaving the solid resin parts away. The results of indirect additively manufactured resin components in PVA moulds are examined, supported by surface and dimension analysis on prism-like sample parts for different sets of process parameters. Possible applications and limitations of the technique are exposed, as well as recommendations for future works.    «

Using additive manufacturing (AM) as aid to manufacture parts with traditional manufacturing methods is one of the many applications of AM, yet one of the less investigated. In this article, for the first time, a way to produce soluble AM customizable sacrificial moulds for resin casting is explained. The moulds are produced through fused filament fabrication using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as raw material. After curing, the moulds are dissolved in water leaving the solid resin parts away. The res...    »