Custom Laser-Cut UV Curing Station
One of the best nerdy toys I have is, without a doubt, my Elegoo Mars 3D resin printer. I keep it busy printing all manner of parts: Everything from lithophanes, mounts, trinkets, and cases to tooling parts. There really is no end to what you can do with it.
However, printing and weeding your parts is only the next to last step you have before you can use them. Right out of the printer, the resin is only partially cured. You need a good solid dose of UV light to finish the curing process. You can use something like the sun by just setting your part outside for awhile, or you can use a curing station. The internet is full of curing stations you can buy as well as an endless parade of DIY designs. This post is my contribution to that endless parade.
Parts you can't cut or print:
1. 3D Printer UV Resin Curing Light for SLA DLP 3D Printer
This is the heart of the curing station. It's important to get the correct wave length and with enough power.
2. Solar Display Stand Turntable
You need something to rotate the resin parts so that direct waves from the UV LED can hit all sides of your part. Anything that doesn't hit directly, the reflective Aluminum tape will reflect back onto the part. The result is that after several minutes, your part should have received a good amount of even UV radiation. The great thing about this solar-powered model is that when you turn the light on, it starts turning. When the light goes off, it stops.
3. BN-LINK Smart Digital Countdown Timer
This will allow you to control the time interval that you can apply the UV radiation to your resin part. You don't want to forget that you have it plugged in and it cooks for several days.
Design
For the body of my station, I went with a 5mm-thick plywood construction. This wood is easy to laser cut, and it's cheap. I wanted it to be slightly oversized to accommodate the upcoming larger 3D resin printers that are just now starting to hit the market. This is my Fusion 360 design. (The files are available to channel subscribers.)
Construction
After the design is done you need to cut the parts on your laser cutter and glue them together.
Now I applied Al tape to make the inside reflective.
Curing
With everything assembled, I can now cure my 3D-printed resin parts day or night.
The design files used here are available to supporters of the channel in this post. Just click on the wire button to sub my channel. If you don't have a Minds account yet, sign up for one and support free speech.