This is a collaborate work with artist Yuanyu Zhou on 3D printing.
Material: pure white UV Curable Resin.
Print time: 9 hours 20 mins.
Principles and types of 3D printers
There are two types of 3D printers on the market, FDM and SLA, both of which operate by breaking a 3D model into several planes and then printing them out layer by layer.
FDM printers are similar to glasglas guns in that they melt the material at a high temperature to print, which has the advantage of cheaper consumables and a larger printable model, but the nozzle limitations make it difficult to produce high-precision objects.
The SLA printer differs in that it uses a liquid light-sensitive resin as the raw material, which solidifies the print layer by emitting light from the bottom screen. Due to its own light curing using a high-resolution screen, the print accuracy is extremely high, at 0.01 mm. However, the printing process requires liquid resin as the raw material, which is a bit cumbersome. The size of the finished print is limited by the size of the screen itself, which is usually small.
The printing process
The process of using the SLA printer is divided into three steps: printing, washing and curing.
Printing: add the necessary supports for the model to be printed, export to CTL format and connect to the printer. Pour the liquid resin into the tray container and start printing. After printing, wait a short time for the liquid resin hanging from the model to drip down into the tray by itself.
Washing: After printing, remove the model from the printer and clean it for a few minutes in an alcohol concentration greater than 95%. The purpose of this step is to completely remove the liquid resin residue from the model, which needs to be dried after cleaning the model with alcohol.
Curing: The printed model should be left in the sun for a few days or under a UV lamp for a few minutes to cure. Curing is done to allow the resin to harden completely in order to achieve the best condition for the material and to remove its toxicity.
It is important to note the safety of the resin in liquid form. The resin is harmful to humans when in the liquid state and its toxicity is removed only after it is fully cured. Therefore, gloves, masks, and eye protection should be worn during the entire operation, and printing should be done in a well-ventilated area.
