UNIST researchers have developed Dispensing Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (DVAM), a method capable of producing parts at a rate of one per minute.

UNIST researchers have developed Dispensing Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (DVAM), a method capable of producing parts at a rate of one per minute. The system utilizes a borosilicate glass pipette to form a pendant droplet of photocurable resin, which is then solidified using tomographic light projection from a 442 nm laser diode. To overcome optical distortion caused by the curved air-resin interface, the team implemented a real-time inverse ray-tracing algorithm supported by a YOLO-based AI framework for boundary detection. This process enables continuous serial production by depositing cured parts onto a moving substrate while immediately forming the next droplet, achieving Jaccard accuracy scores of up to 92.18% for geometric fidelity.

This development addresses the primary throughput bottleneck of Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), which typically requires manual resin vial handling and index-matching fluids that complicate high-speed workflows. By eliminating the need for an external print chamber and refractive-index-matching fluid, DVAM moves volumetric printing closer to the requirements of automated serial manufacturing. While traditional SLA and DLP systems remain the standard for high-resolution production, this approach offers a potential pathway for rapid, small-scale part fabrication that bypasses the layer-by-layer speed constraints inherent in conventional vat photopolymerization.

For industrial adoption, the primary challenge remains scaling the droplet size and managing material viscosity for a broader range of photocurable resins. Users should evaluate this technology for applications requiring high-speed, small-format components where current layer-based processes are too slow. Future development must focus on long-term system stability and the integration of automated post-processing to fully leverage the one-part-per-minute cycle time.