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It is a shame that inkjet UV cure 3D printers haven't caught on with hobbyists. Inkjet 3D printers are awesome, the resolution is hard to beat, you can make par

by gene-h 3y ago

It is a shame that inkjet UV cure 3D printers haven't caught on with hobbyists. Inkjet 3D printers are awesome, the resolution is hard to beat, you can make parts with multiple materials as was shown in the article. Some can even print in color. But currently these machines tend to be very expensive, as in $250,000 and up. Worse, allegedly if you want to make full use of the printer's capability you have to sign over your IP to the company that made the printer. Some people at MIT figured out how to build one cheaply and IIRC they even released plans for it online.[0] You can also buy phone case printers on AliExpress which use the same inkjet UV cure process for about $1500[1]. They allegedly have some limited capability to do 3D too. So it is possible to build 3d printers like this cheap enough that hobbyists could afford them. I suspect the reason they haven't caught on is due to patents, one may not even be able to sell a kit to make such printers [0]https://cdfg.mit.edu/publications/multifab-machine-vision-assisted-platform-multi-material-3d-printing https://cdfg.mit.edu/publications/multifab-machine-vision-as... [1]https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2261799819029324.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2261799819029324.html

Kuinox 3y ago
I tried to see what it take to build one. My first issue is that there is very little information about how the tech work. This article inkjet tech isn't the same one than the powder + inkjet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_bed_and_inkjet_head_3D_printing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_bed_and_inkjet_head_3D_... > the resolution is hard to beat Are you sure it's on the same level than the regular hobbyist resin printers ? Thoses have 35 µm to 50 µm resolution.
- gene-h 3y ago
  I am not referring to powder bed inkjet 3d printing, I am referring to making parts by inkjetting UV curable polymer. The 3D printer mentioned in the article, the cheap 3d printer previously made at MIT, and the phone case printer available on AliExpress all use this process. >resolution The inkjets used have similar DPI as those used in 2D printers, so resolution can be as small as 13-16 micrometers[0] [1]https://www.rnd-tech.com/3d-printers-product-lines/polyjet/eden-series/eden260vs/ https://www.rnd-tech.com/3d-printers-product-lines/polyjet/e... [1]https://www.3dsystems.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/3d-systems-mjp-brochure-usa4-2020-07-17-web.pdf https://www.3dsystems.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/3d-sys...
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    Objet printers use this tech, projet too
  - Kuinox 3y ago
    > am referring to making parts by inkjetting UV curable polymer. Yes, I said they were not the same, my point is there isn't even a Wikipedia article about it. I don't see how technologically it can reach better accuracy than current resin printer that are based on lithography technics. It's just a multi material resin printer but sounds way harder to do for an hobbyist.
iosono88 3y ago
[dead]
iancmceachern 3y ago
They haven't caught on outside of R&D and industrial uses because they're maintenance nightmares. Think of an inkjet printer that prints honey, and the honey hardens when exposed to light. The maintenance, the bad chemicals your exposed to in the printing, curing, cleaning processes, etc. They're nightmares, you would not want it in your home. Same reason I don't have a sla printer, not worth it. The projet 3500 is the coolest printer in this space if you do want one. It's cool be a use the support material is paraffin wax, so to clean and cure the parts you just melt off the wax in a low temp oven and clean the parts in an ultrasonic cleaner with cooking oil in it.
iancmceachern 3y ago
You can get a lower end objet or projet for like $30k, used ones for far less
fortran77 3y ago
"UV Cure" printers are a big mess to deal with. As a hobbyist, if I can do it with an "FDM" printer, I will!
emmelaich 3y ago
Maybe it's cheaper and easier to use epoxy resin. Make the molds with a 'normal' 3d printer.

by gene-h 3y ago

Kuinox 3y ago

I tried to see what it take to build one. My first issue is that there is very little information about how the tech work. This article inkjet tech isn't the same one than the powder + inkjet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_bed_and_inkjet_head_3D_printing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_bed_and_inkjet_head_3D_... > the resolution is hard to beat Are you sure it's on the same level than the regular hobbyist resin printers ? Thoses have 35 µm to 50 µm resolution.

gene-h 3y ago
I am not referring to powder bed inkjet 3d printing, I am referring to making parts by inkjetting UV curable polymer. The 3D printer mentioned in the article, the cheap 3d printer previously made at MIT, and the phone case printer available on AliExpress all use this process. >resolution The inkjets used have similar DPI as those used in 2D printers, so resolution can be as small as 13-16 micrometers[0] [1]https://www.rnd-tech.com/3d-printers-product-lines/polyjet/eden-series/eden260vs/ https://www.rnd-tech.com/3d-printers-product-lines/polyjet/e... [1]https://www.3dsystems.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/3d-systems-mjp-brochure-usa4-2020-07-17-web.pdf https://www.3dsystems.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/3d-sys...
- iancmceachern 3y ago
  Objet printers use this tech, projet too
- Kuinox 3y ago
  > am referring to making parts by inkjetting UV curable polymer. Yes, I said they were not the same, my point is there isn't even a Wikipedia article about it. I don't see how technologically it can reach better accuracy than current resin printer that are based on lithography technics. It's just a multi material resin printer but sounds way harder to do for an hobbyist.

iosono88 3y ago

[dead]

iancmceachern 3y ago

They haven't caught on outside of R&D and industrial uses because they're maintenance nightmares. Think of an inkjet printer that prints honey, and the honey hardens when exposed to light. The maintenance, the bad chemicals your exposed to in the printing, curing, cleaning processes, etc. They're nightmares, you would not want it in your home. Same reason I don't have a sla printer, not worth it. The projet 3500 is the coolest printer in this space if you do want one. It's cool be a use the support material is paraffin wax, so to clean and cure the parts you just melt off the wax in a low temp oven and clean the parts in an ultrasonic cleaner with cooking oil in it.

iancmceachern 3y ago

You can get a lower end objet or projet for like $30k, used ones for far less

fortran77 3y ago

"UV Cure" printers are a big mess to deal with. As a hobbyist, if I can do it with an "FDM" printer, I will!

emmelaich 3y ago

Maybe it's cheaper and easier to use epoxy resin. Make the molds with a 'normal' 3d printer.