Processability and Performance of Dual-Cure Resins : A Study of Cyanate Ester Integration for DLP

This study investigates dual-cure resins for the DLP process using photorheological and thermomechanical characterization methods to optimize their mechanical, thermal, and processing properties for resin printing. The focus was on the incorporation of different cyanate esters (CE) as thermally curing components combined with a UV-curing acrylate system to create an interpenetrating network (IPN). The results show that increasing the CE content significantly improves the thermal properties, especially the glass transition temperature (T g ) and the thermal stability (T Δ5% ). However, beyond a CE content of 50 wt.%, the print resolution decreases, as shown by photorheological measurements and printing trials. Photorheology also showed that higher CE concentrations reduce viscosity and improve processability, and mechanical tests confirmed that the developed resin formulations have properties comparable to a commercial system. Among the formulations tested, the system with a CE content of 50%LVT100 stood out, achieving an optimal balance of thermal and mechanical performance while maintaining high print quality on standard DLP printers. This research introduces an open and adaptable high-performance resin formulation that can be used without proprietary printing systems, potentially enabling new applications and fostering competition in the high-performance resin market.