Design and Development of Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D Printer

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM), also referred to as three-dimensional printing, produces three-dimensional parts by adding material of specific layer thickness layer by layer. It is well known for its capability to create intricate and complex geometric parts and minimize the wastage of material unalike conventional manufacturing. The digital light processing (DLP) is one of the AM technologies and uses photopolymer resin as a material in liquid form and ultraviolet (UV) light to convert liquid resin into solid geometry of size and shape as per 3D model. This technique comprises of two approaches, top-down and bottom-up. In this paper, the latter method has selected for further design and development. This paper explains the overall idea of designing and fabricating the DLP 3D printer through indigenization and innovation, starting from choosing an approach to conducting the experiments. The methodology behind the design and development of the indigenous DLP 3D printer and the various problems encountered during this development have been discussed. Further, it briefly explains in-depth study carried out for the selection of several components of the printer, viz. optical components such as the projector and its orientation, mechanical components such as build platform, vat, and electronic components like stepper motor and microcontroller and shield. Conclusions have been drawn based on the results obtained after several preliminary testing carried out during this study.