UP NEXT: Nick Diaco, MIT

Rethinking Support Structures in Resin 3D

Monday, November 9, 2026 | 2:00 ET

Abstract: Photopolymer additive manufacturing offers high resolution and surface quality, but the need to remove support structures after printing remains a major challenge. Supports limit part geometries, add manual labor, and generate waste. This talk focuses on Selective Solubility Vat Photopolymerization (SSVP), a new approach that uses a single resin and two wavelengths of light to selectively cure either a dissolvable thermoplastic or a durable, insoluble thermoset within the same print. This allows complex geometries to be fabricated with supports that can later be removed in mild solvents or in a component of the original resin itself, enabling closed-loop recycling of the dissolved support material. Several other emerging strategies for reducing the burden of support removal in photopolymer printing will also be discussed. Together, these examples show how materials design, process design, and machine design can work together to make resin 3D printed more automated, sustainable, and capable of producing complex parts.