Designing of Cost Effective Resin 3D Printer using UV LED

Stereolithography - also known as SLA 3D printing is one of the most popular, emerging and widespread technology in the world of additive manufacturing. This technique basically works with the help of a high powered ultraviolet laser, which is used to harden the liquid resin by adding progressive layers on the base of built-in platform present in the tank to create the desired 3D shape. Our SLA 3D printer is generally composed of five main sections which involves a tank filled with photopolymer resin, a built-in platform, ultraviolet LEDs, Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno. Our printer employs a hybrid approach of 3D-printing in which a modified LCD is used as a barrier between the UV LED and resin tank as well as the whole idea focuses on creating an cost effective printer. The LCD screen acts as a stencil for shaping the layers of the 3D model. The ultraviolet light from light source shines directly, in a parallel fashion, onto the build area in order to create the desired 3D model in a layer-by-layer fashion.