Boring power point presentations are not the only use for video projectors, they can also be part of a 3D printers.
When used as a light source to solidify an acrylic resin, we can make a 3D printer. The printer is using the video projector, meant for watching movies, to cure a thin layer of resin. By curing layers after layers, a 3D object is created.
The printing goes as follow:
- The object is cut into slices which are turned into black and white images. The resin is sensitive to light and will be cured where the image is white, i.e. when exposed to light.
- The first image is sent to video projector, which displays it for a few seconds. The projector then goes blank and the first layer is printed.
- The platform is the raised by 50 µm and the next image is sent to the projector and the process is repeated until the full object is finished.
The entire printer was made using the tools already present in the lab. The body was made with the ShopBot CNC and the various custom parts were made with a low cost PLA 3D printer. Aluminium profiles were recycled to make the structure of the printer and provided a sturdy frame.
The printer has a building volume of 120 x 68 x 350 mm with a X-Y resolution of 58 µm and a Z resolution as low as 25 µm, making it a very accurate tool, capable of printing very small structures with great details.
The video projector was also heavily modified to replace the light source with a 10 W LED. By being able to switch the LED, we can tune the printer to use different materials, with the aim of 3D printing hydrogels.
Hydrogels can be used for cell culture which could help the development of drugs and improve the understanding of diseases such as cancer development without requiring animal models, speeding up the research process.
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