photopolymer

noun

pho·​to·​poly·​mer ˌfō-tō-ˈpä-lə-mər 

1

: a light-sensitive material that undergoes chemical and physical property changes when exposed to light (as UV or visible)

Aided by a computer design, a 3D printer uses laser technology to build a three-dimensional object from a liquid photopolymer.

—Carl Wilson

2

: a light-sensitive polymer used especially in the manufacture of printing plates

… a photopolymer is used instead of metal to transfer ink from rollers.

—Ken Cleveland

—often used before another noun

photopolymer printing plates

Examples of photopolymer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The resins are photopolymers that are cured by ultraviolet light-emitting diodes after each layer is printed. —Phillip W. Barth, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Mar. 2024

To start, a chamber of liquid photopolymer plastic is heated, and a build plate rises from the plastic as an ultraviolet laser scans mirrors to produce each thin layer. —WIRED, 28 Aug. 2022

The team placed a commercial elastomeric photopolymer against an aluminum sheet and projected various images onto the sample using a standard off-the-shelf projector. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2022

These use glass incorporating a transparent photopolymer film which is able to create an apparently three-dimensional image when struck by light generated by compact laser units. —Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 29 Nov. 2021

Origin's system uses UV light, heat, and force to cure liquid photopolymer resins into production ready parts. —Patrick Kennedy, Star Tribune, 9 Dec. 2020

An engineer named Chuck Hull pioneered the first 3D printer in 1983, making trinkets out of photopolymer that eventually led him to patent the process a year later. —Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for photopolymer

• biopolymer
• homopolymer
• copolymer
• polymer