As anybody who has used an FDM printer can inform you, it’s actually not the magical replicator it’s typically made out to be. The restrictions of the platform are quite a few — starting from anisotropic materials traits to visible imperfections within the components. In an try to cut back the visible artifacts in 3D prints, [TenTech] affixed a small diode laser on a 3D printer.
Getting the 1.5 watt diode laser onto the printer was a easy matter of a bracket and attaching it to the management board as a fan. Tuning the precise utility of the laser proved a bit of more difficult. Whereas the layer traces did get smoothed, it additionally discolored the pink filament making the outcomes considerably unusable. Darker coloured filaments appear to not have this challenge and a darkish blue is used for the remainder of the video.
The smoothing course of begins on the finish of a 3D print and makes use of non-planar printer actions to maintain the laser at a really perfect focusing distance. The outcomes proved fairly efficient, giving a noticeably smoother and shiner high quality than an unprocessed print. The smoothing works extremely properly on effective geometry which might be tough or not possible to easy out through conventional mechanical means. Some element was misplaced with sharp corners getting rounded, however not almost as a lot as [TenTech] feared.
For a remaining check, [TenTech] made two candle molds, one smoothed and one processed. The standard distinction between the 2 ensuing candles was minimal, with the smoothed one being even perhaps a bit of worse. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of wax leaked into the 3D print infill within the unprocessed mould, with the processed mould displaying no indicators of leaking.
In case you are searching for a bit safer of a 3D print post-processing method, ensure to take a look at [Donal Papp]’s UV resin smoothing experiments!
Thanks [john] for the tip!
