DIY 3D printer with robotic UV laser

Stereoscopic 3D TVs seem to be the next frontier that manufacturers want to push into our living rooms, but what about 3D printers? An affordable version for the average consumer is still far from reality, so necessity being the mother of all invention has led to ‘Rob Hopeless’ cobble together this DIY 3D printer – complete with a robotic UV laser, of course, to make it look all the more professional.

This hack is actually a stereolithography rig, which is a kind of 3D printing which will cure solid parts of a liquid resin. You can check out the YouTube video of it in action after the jump, but before that, a little bit of explanation on how it works is in order.

Stereolithography will fire an UV laser into a vat of liquid plastic resin, where said laser is able to cure the resin into a solid, while the computer program helps guide the path of the laser in a manner that helps it shape a solid 3D object out of the liquid. This is still a work in progress, and a perfected version should be heading your way in due time.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: 3d printer, DYI, Hacking, Mod