stereolithography
[‚ster·ē·ō·li′thäg·rə·fē] (industrial engineering)
A three-dimensional printing process whereby a CAD drawing of a part is processed to create a file of the part in slices and the part is constructed one slice (or layer) at a time (from bottom to top) by depositing layer upon layer of material (usually a liquid resin that can be hardened using a scanning laser), used for rapid prototyping.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
stereolithography
The first 3D printing technology. Pioneered by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems, stereolithography (SL) uses a liquid photopolymer that is cured one layer at a time with a UV laser. Stereolithography is used to make parts as large as 20" x 20" x 24", and engineers and industrial designers envision myriad applications for this process. See 3D printing. |
| SL for the Consumer |
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| Stereolithography (SL) was brought down to the consumer level in 2012 by Formlabs with its Form 1 3D printer. In this example, an Eiffel tower is being created by beaming the laser up through the liquid photopolymer tray and curing one layer at a time. (Top image courtesy of Formlabs, www.formlabs.com) |
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