3D Print

Hello everyone

Today I would like to present a project that has not yet been completed, and I would also like to explain how it works.

This is my future resin 3D printer.

How a 3D printer works. As we can see in the photo we have a large part of aluminum that contains a chopper worm that runs with a stepper motor. When the screw is going to turn, it will be possible to change the height of the bracket mounted on the rails. On this support we will hang a kind of plate large as the black rectangular element which is below.

The black element below is an LCD display. This LCD display is connected to a microcontroller that will control its display.

Under the screen is placed a lot of ultra-violet LEDs which are also controlled by the microcontroller.

To make a 3D part we will use a small transparent tray that we will place on the LCD screen. In this tray we will insert resin that will polymerize when it comes in contact with ultraviolet light. To create a piece in 3 dimensions we will use the mobile support which will be immersed in the resin and which will stick the bottom of the transparent tray . We will then display an image on the screen in black and white and then turn on the ultraviolet LEDs . Where the screen is transparent, the ultraviolet light will pass through the screen and polymerize the resin. Thanks to this method we will polymerize a thin layer on our support, this will be the beginning of our 3D printing. To make the whole part, we will then mount the support several times and then polymerize each time the resin until we obtain the desired shape .

In this prototype it is important to have a support that goes up and down with precision of micrometer and an LCD screen with many pixels. This will allow us to obtain objects in 3D of very high quality.

For the design of the object on a computer it is enough to use a 3D software like Solid Works . When the piece is drawn, we will use another software that will cut this piece into very thin coat on its height . This software will send all those photos to the microcontroller which will successively display on the LCD screen when the plate goes up step by step.

This project is not finished, indeed I have encountered several problems for the display of the LCD screen. In addition, there are some parts already broken within the microcontroller system. I would like to spend a little more time on this project, unfortunately everyday life does not give me the chance to continue it.

I hope one day to finish this printer and why not present you some results.

See you soon for new presentations!