Long-term Performance of 3d-printed Thermal & Optical Components for Lighting Applications

Polymer and polymer composite materials can potentially be used in the 3D printing of thermal management and mechanical components for lighting systems. There is limited availability of information regarding the long-term thermal performance of such 3D-printed polymer samples. We are expanding our work characterizing the long-term performance of 3D-printed polymer material samples under elevated ambient temperature in a simulated thermal management application environment. Test samples were 3D-printed using commercially available 3D printing material using material extrusion processes. This paper will discuss the experiment setup, the test protocols, and the thermal resistance change results as a function of aging time from data collected over 8,000 hours.
Photopolymer resins can potentially be used in the 3D printing of optically clear lenses for lighting systems. Like long-term thermal performance data, the availability of long-term optical performance data is limited. We are expanding our work to optically characterize the long-term performance of 3D-printed photopolymer resins and polymer material samples under elevated ambient temperature and short-wavelength optical irradiance. Test samples were 3D printed using three clear, transparent resins and translucent filament using vat photopolymerization, multi-jet modeling, and material extrusion processes. This paper will discuss the experiment setup, the test protocols, and the light transmission results as a function of aging time from data collected over 10,000 hours.