FDM Printing With Resin Update
[Proper Printing] It’s all back to square one. He’s trying to perfect his hybrid printer that works like an FDM printer but uses UV-curable resin gel instead of filament. The latest update video is available below. If you missed our initial take on his attempts, you may want to go back and see those videos.
The latest update features a new light source and a modified nozzle. Conical lenses convert laser beams from a spot into a ring. The initial nozzles looked like the business end of a syringe, but this wasn’t very stable. This new video shows another nozzle that had its problems. This led to a custom-made, customized nozzle which solved all of the problems with the conventional nozzle as well as the syringe tips.
It is crucial to know the resin formula. To achieve thickness, the second attempt used resin with beads of glass. That wasn’t without problems, though, so it was switched this time with fused silica, as suggested by some comments on a previous video. The mixture was also aggressively mixed and air removed. While the original resins were a paste consistency, the new mixture looks more like a gel.
Things began to go wrong. Numerous equipment failures followed. Exhausted, he tried to give up but was still editing the video. Then he had an epiphany. We’re glad he didn’t give up because the new results are pretty impressive.
These printers remind of a bizarre laser CNC. It reminds us of resin curing outside of the normal printing process.
