LAUSR

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to improve the mechanical performance of stereolithography for dental zirconia ceramic fabrication by optimising the scanning parameters, including laser power, hatching space, and scanning speed. An L9(43) orthogonal array, based on the Taguchi method, was designed with a minimum number of experimental runs. The analysis of variance was conducted to examine the significant scanning parameters affecting the performance (flexural strength and density) of the final sintered ceramic parts. The results showed that laser power significantly affected flexural strength, but none of the three parameters had a significant influence on the density. The optimised scanning parameters were as follows: laser power, 0.45 W; hatching space, 25 µm; scanning speed, 750 mm s–1. The flexural strength and density reached 978.05 ± 96.23 MPa and 98.42 ± 0.73%, respectively. The flexural strength had been greatly improved in this study, which may be suitable for practical use in dental zirconia ceramic fabrication.