The invention is generally a system for drying, recycling, and washing off residual resin from 3D-printed objects. Exemplary systems may include a system for drying off residual resin from 3D-printed objects. The system may include a wash reservoir including a chamber for housing the 3D printed object and containing a wash solvent or liquid solvent adapted to at least partially remove residual residue present in the 3D printer object. Air exchange vents provided between a splash guard or a lid of the wash reservoir may be adapted to act as an air intake or an air exhaust. An airflow module in fluid communication with the air vents and the chamber may be adapted to create a positive or negative air pressure inside the wash reservoir for redirecting airflow to the chamber housing the 3D printed object, and blowing air out or into the chamber to dry the 3D-printed object.

The invention is a system for drying, recycling, and washing off residual resin from 3D-printed objects. Some aspects of the invention include a system for recycling solvents used to clean the 3D-printed objects in a washing chamber. The recycling system may include one or more solvent reservoirs that store a solvent for cleaning residual 3D-printing material off of 3D-printed objects, a wash chamber adapted to clean the 3D-printed objects, and a solvent recycling module. The solvent recycling module receives a saturated solvent from the one or more solvent reservoirs, evaporates or condenses the saturated solvent to remove residual 3D-printing material from the saturated solvent, and returns clean solvent to the one or more solvent reservoirs of the system.

The present disclosure may provide a cleaning apparatus for cleaning parts. The cleaning apparatus may comprise a housing defining a washing chamber having an opening through which parts may be loaded/unloaded into the washing chamber. The cleaning apparatus may also comprise a spray system adapted to direct a washing solution to clean the part in the washing chamber. The spray system may comprise a spray array with at least one rotatable spray head. The spray head may comprise a plurality of nozzles through which the washing solution is directed to clean the part in the washing chamber. The cleaning apparatus may also comprise a closure which may provide controlled access to the washing chamber through the opening and may be movable between a closed position to sealingly close the opening and an open position so as to allow for loading and unloading of parts into the washing chamber without obstruction.

A method of making an object from a data file and a light polymerizable resin by additive manufacturing includes the steps of: (a) optionally modifying the data file to add additional vacuum cycling nucleation (VCN) nucleation sites to surfaces of the object (2A); (b) producing the object from the data file and the resin by light polymerization in an additive manufacturing process (3), optionally under conditions in which additional VCN nucleation sites are added to surfaces of the object, the object having residual resin adhered to the surface thereof; and then (c) cleaning the residual resin from the object with a wash liquid by vacuum cycling nucleation (4).

The invention is generally a system for washing off residual resin from objects which are three-dimensionally (3D) printed through a vat polymerization (VP) process. Exemplary systems may include a solvent receptacle, a wash reservoir in fluid communication with the solvent receptacle, and a controller configured to pump a solvent from the solvent receptacle to the wash reservoir for washing off residual resin from a 3D-printed object. Exemplary methods may include pumping a first solution of a plurality of solvent solutions from the solvent receptacle to the wash reservoir, dispersing the first solution onto the 3D-printed object, pumping the first solution from the wash reservoir to the solvent receptacle, pumping a second solution of the plurality of solvent solutions from the solvent receptacle to the wash reservoir, and dispersing the second solution onto the 3D-printed object.

A roller-type applicator cleaning apparatus includes a lid, a housing, a water inlet valve, a base, a plurality of radial openings, and a central axis. The base includes a platform and an applicator holder. The lid, the housing, and the base are concentrically positioned along the central axis. The applicator holder is adjacently connected onto the platform and function as a storage space for the roller-type applicator. The plurality of radial openings laterally traverses through the applicator holder so that a flow of water can discharge into the applicator holder as the flow of water is entered into the housing through the water inlet. The lid and the base are oppositely positioned of each other about the housing and threadedly attached to the housing. The applicator holder is encircled by the housing so that the flow of water can fully engaged with the inserted applicator that needs to be cleaned.

A method is provided for removing a residue from a surface. The method includes steps of applying a cleaning medium to the surface containing the residue. The cleaning medium comprises up to 100 wt. % of at least a solvent. Allowing the cleaning medium to be in contact with the residue for at least 5 seconds to swell/dissolve the residue for removing the residue from the surface. At least 50 wt. % of the residue and the cleaning medium are removed from the surface by wiping the surface with a shear force. The residue contains a sulfonated polymer having an ion exchange capacity (IEC) of greater than 0.5 meq/g. The sulfonated polymer can kill >90% of microbes coming in contact with the sulfonated polymer in less than 30 min.

A method of removing a lens forming material deposited on a lens forming surface (1) of a reusable glass mold for forming ophthalmic lenses, in particular contact lenses or intraocular lenses, comprises the steps of providing a plasma (2), exposing the lens forming surface (1) of the reusable glass mold to the plasma (2) for removing the lens forming material deposited on the lens forming surface (1). The plasma (2) is generated under atmospheric pressure and potential-free, or is generated under reduced pressure.

A system for removing a coating from an underlying layer can include a wave-based weakening system configured to weaken the coating by decreasing a coupling force between the coating and the substrate, a coating removal mechanism configured to remove the weakened coating from the underlying layer, and a sensor configured to determine a property associated with the coating. A method for removing a coating from an underlying layer can include generating a weakened coating and removing the weakened coating.

Provided is a decomposing/cleaning composition for an adhesive polymer having a high etching rate and suppressed infiltration into a contact interface between a substrate such as a device wafer and an adhesive layer such as a fixing tape. The decomposing/cleaning composition of one embodiment is a decomposing/cleaning composition for an adhesive polymer containing a quaternary alkylammonium fluoride or a quaternary alkylammonium fluoride hydrate and an aprotic solvent, wherein the aprotic solvent contains (A) an N-substituted amide compound having no active hydrogens on the nitrogen atoms and (B) at least one organic sulfur oxide selected from the group consisting of sulfoxide compounds and sulfone compounds.