During my final year in the Mechanical Engineering program at UOIT, I was part of a team tasked with designing, producing, and testing a 3D printer. This project spanned over the entire year with design and documentation ocurring in first stemester, and production and testing in the second.
The intent was to create a Rapid Prototyping machine using Stereolithography techniques that was scalable and allowed for an increase in build area without sacrificing print speed. This was accomplished by using an array of LEDs to project light up and through an iPad screen thereby curing layers of photosensitive resin.
The main challenge we ran into was that the photosensitive resin would cure to the bottom of the vat and separate from the build plate as it raised up. This was solved by applying a low surface energy silicon coating to the bottom of the vat. From there, we began testing various exposure times and intensities to ensure optimal layer thickness and integrity.
The project was a success and was displayed at the annual UOIT Capstone Exhibition.
