VACUUM COMPONENTS OBTAINED BY SLA 3D PRINTING FOR HIGH-VACUUM APPLICATIONS

Abstract

This work presents the development and evaluation of KF-25 standard flanges fabricated by 3D printing using stereolithography (SLA) for application in high vacuum systems. The aim is to provide a low-cost, fast, and geometrically flexible alternative to conventional metallic components for laboratory applications. The parts were modeled using Autodesk Inventor and printed with a photopolymer resin on an Anycubic Photon Mono 4K printer. One sample was coated with a 1 μm aluminum layer via thermal evaporation (PVD). Optical microscopy revealed continuous surfaces with no visible pores or air pockets, even at the micrometer scale. Pump-down tests were performed using the Edwards Auto 306 vacuum system, where the original aluminum flange was replaced with the printed samples. Both the untreated and the coated flanges reached final pressures on the order of 10^-5 mbar. The aluminum-coated sample exhibited improved pressure stability over time, indicating reduced outgassing. The results demonstrate that SLA-printed flanges can be effectively used in real high vacuum conditions, offering significant advantages in terms of fabrication time, cost, and design flexibility. A discussion of the vacuum system and an estimated calculation of its degassing rate are performed. This study provides a promising pathway for future applications in more complex geometries and customized vacuum setups.