DLP based printer

[Peter]

I am interested in making a DLP-based printer, if you are also interested perhaps we can collaborate.  

If you are NOT interested in making one but interested in trolling, arguing, ranting, etc. please do that on another thread.  

What is the correct terminology for this type of printer?  SLR, SLD?  What does that mean?

I did a little bit of time researching the open source projects and I think they are all incomplete.  

Starting here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:19185

That thing does not show any actual prints, I do not think they got it working yet.  

Lemon Curry has some nice documentation but is far from being a how-to guide, and I question if anyone there has actual printed anything.  Great work on both of these! 

This is the most complete version I have seen to date:

http://3dlprint.com/

There are of course the $2000+ crowdfunded DLP printers (Veloso and B9Creator) which despite their high price actually work.  The goal then is to build a working DLP-based printer and share whatever we can with the community.  

Does anyone know of a wiki we can edit for this type of printer, perhaps Reprap?  

I think to build one the following components need to be procured and assembled, this is my list for now: 

1. structural frame 

2. Z-stage dipping mechanism (this looks great:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21204)

3. vat: soda glass and aquarium silicone 

4. Electronics: 

   -Ardunio Uno

   -Stepper motor

   -Stepper driver

   -12V power supply (wall wart)

   -misc electronics (linear regulator to take 12V down to 9V for Uno) 

5. DLP projector 

6. computer to drive projector and communicate with Uno

There seems to be a problem with the resin hardening on the bottom side of the print and sticking to the vat.  The crowdfunded printers have another motor that moves the vat at every layer.  Some people were trying to fix this by applying a non-stick material on the bottom of the vat.  The above list may need to be updated with a second motor (B9Creator uses a DC motor) and some mechanism to move the vat, however the Arduino Uno would still be adequate in terms of IOs.  

[Avery Nisbet]

Your going to need something bigger than a wall-wart to drive a stepper motor.
I would just get the ramps kit wich is already used with a lot of
other kits/printers. It also has a lot of nice software already
written.

If you look at the archives we have two or three really long threads
on this already.

-Avery

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[Marat]

Hi Peter,

This looks very interesting! I would like to participate, but really short on time. Perhaps I could help with documentation or something else. Also I might have some extra parts (Will let you know tomorrow)

Power supply: what do you think is a minimum Watt that we need?
Stepper motor + driver: Do you think EasyDriver would be good / powerful enough for this project?

Might even get an old projector (need to talk to my friend). I don't get a projector part though... How does/will this printer work?

Thanks,
Marat

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[Marat]

Never mind about projector part. Now I understand how does it work.

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[Marat]

Never mind about projector part. Now I understand how does it work.

>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to --

[Peter]

Avery,

>Your going to need something bigger than a wall-wart to drive a stepper motor. 

Wow that is a broad statement.  Actually I have wall-warts that can output 4A @ 20V, which is enough to drive any stepper on the Makerbot.  That much power certainly is not needed for the single z-stage stepper on these DLP printers.  I would be surprised if the DC power draw is more than 10W.  The B9Creator actually drives a DC motor, a stepper and the Arduino off a single wall-wart, please see the documentation here: http://b9creator.com/index.php/gallery/

>I would just get the ramps kit wich is already used with a lot of other kits/printers.

How much is a fully populated RAMPs kit?  Last time I checked you could get one for $150-200.  That's actually a lot considering the goal is to get the total cost of this printer under $200.  Also it's a huge waste considering you only need to drive one stepper, not five.  

> If you look at the archives we have two or three really long threads on this already.

Yes I looked at those.  They were full of such highly informative, constructive comments such as: 

>I don't like resin, it falls apart after 40 years

>no it doesn't 

>yes it does

>no it doesn't 

>yes it does

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[Peter]

I think the EasyDriver would be powerful enough but I am not sure.  It's based on the A3967 which can only do 0.75A per coil.  For $0.95 less you can get the Pololu A4988 which can do 2A per coil.  

http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit

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[Taylor Alexander]

Maybe design a simple Arduino shield that is RAMPS with just one or two stepper sockets and one heater control? Heating the bath can be useful and a secondary unstuffed stepper socket never hurts. That would be a useful board and I bet plenty of people would buy them from you if you put them on batchPCB or something. Or buy a bare RAMPS PCB and just stuff a handful of components - that would be easier.

And as far as I know, this technology is called SLA - stereo lithography.

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[Marat]

I wonder which software would be used for this printer?

[Taylor Alexander]

Looks like Slic3r is adding support for it.

https://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r/commit/181f750618f295080521a697b61e652895bc08a7

But generally there isn't a well-developed software stack for it yet.

[Peter]

That's a good idea.  I am going to throw together the electronics first with stuff I have, and sort out what is needed and what isn't.  After that I think it would be a good time to put together an Arduino shield.  

I don't have any interest in selling these, but if someone else wants to sell them I will do whatever I can to support that.  

Also someone could sell the support structure, vat, and z-stage.  

[Peter]

I have created a RepRap development Wiki for this project: http://reprap.org/wiki/Maureen.  

I did not bother to read the naming conventions on the RepRap page, all the other RepRaps seem to have male names so I decided to go for a female name.  

I outlined many tasks that need to be done on the Wikipage, if anyone cares to do any of them.  Probably half can be done from the comfort of your computer without getting your hands dirty.  

Using KitBOM for the BOM, it is great and easy to use: good job guys.  However I am having trouble getting the embedded BOM to show up in the wiki.  Any ideas?  Feel free to edit the Wiki.  

[Bill Ruckman]

I think Taylor's idea of using RAMPS is a good one.  You can buy the bare PCB for $10 and just populate what is needed.  It should be < $30 for components including one Pololu stepper driver.

--Bill

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[Tony Guntharp]

The issue with embedding the BOM from KitBOM might be due to reprap.org
not allowing iframes? Just a quick guess off the top of my head.

-t

> <mailto:peter.b.h...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> I think the EasyDriver would be powerful enough but I am not
> sure. It's based on the A3967 which can only do 0.75A per
> coil. For $0.95 less you can get the Pololu A4988 which can
> do 2A per coil.
> http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit
> <http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit>
>
>
> On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:13:16 AM UTC-7, M3D wrote:
>
> Hi Peter,
>
> This looks very interesting! I would like to
> participate, but really short on time. Perhaps I could
> help with documentation or something else. Also I might
> have some extra parts (Will let you know tomorrow)
>
> Power supply: what do you think is a minimum Watt that
> we need?
> Stepper motor + driver: Do you think EasyDriver would be
> good / powerful enough for this project?
>
> Might even get an old projector (need to talk to my
> friend). I don't get a projector part though... How
> does/will this printer work?
>
> Thanks,
> Marat
>
> On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, Avery Nisbet

> <ani...@gmail.com <mailto:ani...@gmail.com>> wrote:
> > Your going to need something bigger than a wall-wart
> to drive a stepper motor.
> > I would just get the ramps kit wich is already used
> with a lot of
> > other kits/printers. It also has a lot of nice
> software already
> > written.
> >
> > If you look at the archives we have two or three
> really long threads
> > on this already.
> >
> > -Avery
> >
> >
> > On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:15 AM, Peter
> <peter.b.h...@gmail.com

> <mailto:peter.b.h...@gmail.com>> wrote:
> >> I am interested in making a DLP-based printer, if
> you are also interested
> >> perhaps we can collaborate.
> >> If you are NOT interested in making one but
> interested in trolling, arguing,
> >> ranting, etc. please do that on another thread.
> >>
> >> What is the correct terminology for this type of
> printer? SLR, SLD? What
> >> does that mean?
> >>
> >> I did a little bit of time researching the open
> source projects and I think
> >> they are all incomplete.
> >> Starting here:

> http://www.thingiverse.__com/thing:19185

> >> http://www.thingiverse.com/__thing:21204
> <http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21204>)

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[Marat]

Hi All,

I have a question about projector: what is the idea behind modifying a projector's lens? Will it project image only without background light?

As I understand, layer image should be projected.. Should we just make a background in black color?

P.S.
I happened to have a UV light "box".. Will think about how it could be used. What about post cure? Will it make sense to expose fully printed part to UV again? Not sure if that makes any differense to quality of a part.

Thanks,
Marat

[Marat]

Here is what I have:
http://www.tradekey.com/product_view/id/1448681.htm

[Peter]

Hi Marat,

I do not know about modifying the lens.  As far as I know the only modification you need to do to a DLP is to remove or disable the color wheel.  Doing this allows you to output light and no light.  Some projectors will not work if you remove the color wheel, in this case you need to modify it so that it does not display colors.  

About your UV light box, it could be used to cure the prints.  Most people cure the prints outside as there is sufficient UV light hitting the earth during the day.  Perhaps you made a print at night and wanted to cure it, then you could use that light box.  How would this compare with the free light outside?  The resin I'm using is active at 385nm, light at this wavelength hits the earth at 30mW/cm^2 when it's sunny.   I do not have a good feel for how your box will compare with that.  It looks like the build area is: 50x60cm=3000cm^2.  What is the power input?  How efficiently can the bulbs convert electrical energy into light?  

Peter

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[Marat]

Thanks for clarification, Peter.

As for power input and efficiency of UV box, I'll get back to you since I still need to pick it up from my friend.

So the way I see it, layer should be displayed and cured under UV light (or natural light depending on material) and then part should be moved up and next layer should be displayed. Correct?

Thanks,
Marat

>>>        <mailto:peter.b.h...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>            I think the EasyDriver would be powerful enough but I am not
>>>            sure. It's based on the A3967 which can only do 0.75A per
>>>            coil. For $0.95 less you can get the Pololu A4988 which can
>>>            do 2A per coil.
>>>            http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit
>>>            <http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit>
>>>
>>>
>>>            On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:13:16 AM UTC-7, M3D wrote:
>>>
>>>                Hi Peter,
>>>
>>>                This looks very interesting! I would like to
>>>                participate, but really short on time. Perhaps I could
>>>                help with documentation or something else. Also I might
>>>                have some extra parts (Will let you know tomorrow)
>>>
>>>                Power supply: what do you think is a minimum Watt that
>

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[Peter]

Yes that's exactly how it works.  

>>>        <mailto:peter.b.harrington@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>            I think the EasyDriver would be powerful enough but I am not
>>>            sure. It's based on the A3967 which can only do 0.75A per
>>>            coil. For $0.95 less you can get the Pololu A4988 which can
>>>            do 2A per coil.
>>>            http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit
>>>            <http://ultimachine.com/content/pololu-a4988-stepper-driver-heatsink-kit>
>>>
>>>
>>>            On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:13:16 AM UTC-7, M3D wrote:
>>>
>>>                Hi Peter,
>>>
>>>                This looks very interesting! I would like to
>>>                participate, but really short on time. Perhaps I could
>>>                help with documentation or something else. Also I might
>>>                have some extra parts (Will let you know tomorrow)
>>>
>>>                Power supply: what do you think is a minimum Watt that
>
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[Peter]

I read that the lens on the projector does need to be modified, to allow the projector to focus at a small distance. 

The B9creator moves the lens assembly forward ~3mm.  

[Marat]

Yes, I also saw that yesterday. They use plastic pipe as an extension, this needs to be done in case you want to focus on a surface that is very close.

About that UV box: it has 110v input and has several modes. Normal, "Pro" (more light) and very little light for small parts.

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[Marat]

Got "Infocus" DLP printer and removed color wheel. Will also extend the lens since it doesn't focus when surface is close