[Proper Printing] He’s back at it. 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. You can catch up on our earlier videos to learn more about his early efforts.
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. The custom-made nozzle was created to solve all issues with both the standard nozzle and the tips for syringes.
Particular importance is given to the resin formulation. 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. They used air removal and aggressive mixing. While the original resins were a paste consistency, the new mixture looks more like a gel.
Things started to go wrong at some point. Many equipment malfunctions occurred. He was so frustrated that he wanted to quit and was just about to finish editing the video when he experienced an epiphany. We’re glad he didn’t give up because the new results are pretty impressive.
These printers remind me of a strange laser CNC. It reminds us a bit of people who cure resin outside the normal print process.