Photon-inspired resin print curing chamber

Last crawled date: 4 years, 3 months ago

Been thinking of building your own UV-curing chamber? This is a project for those who are into electronics and know how to work with Arduino for example. Don't print this if you are new to electronics and expect a step-by-step project, this is for those who are already planning to build their own curing chamber and just need something to put the gear in.
I have included a STEP-file of the top if you want to adapt it for other displays and/or buttons.
This is a DIY-project where I used leftover components, therefor I will not offer a circuit diagram here because you should not use the components I used. If I would buy components for this I would buy an Arduino nano or similar, a dual-channel motor controller board to control the LED-strip and the rotation motor. The board should be able to handle at least 1,5A because the LED-strip (at least the one I have) uses a bit over 1A continuously on 100% duty. In mine I used some left-over MOSFET's, a 5V regulator that keeps getting too hot, so will need to replace that, and I used a NodeMCU (ESP8266) which is way overkill for this, but I had a bunch of boards laying around so could just as well use them. The annoying thing is that NodeMCU can just handle up to 10V so I could not power it directly on my 12V power supply, which is why I'm using an external 5V regulator.
However, I developed the code in the Arduino IDE so you can re-use my code if you are using any Arduino-board, just make sure to change the pins to the ones you are using. You might also need to change display library to whatever display you choose.
Display I used: Luxorparts 1,3" OLED https://www.kjell.com/se/produkter/el-verktyg/elektronik/optokomponenter/led-lcd-displayer/luxorparts-oled-display-for-arduino-13-p87946
Button: 5-way tactile joystick from a scrapped computer monitor. Even though the board I've used is not available for purchase, if you search for "5-way tactile" you will find the component and there are multiple breakout boards. Or you could replace it with just a button to start the curing process.
UV-LED strip: https://www.ebay.com/itm/UV-Ultraviolet-Black-Lights-LED-Strip-300-LEDs-16-4Ft-5M-3528-Flexible/192926297864
Motor: 12mm DC-motor with planetary gearbox. Mine are not available for sale online from what I can find, but if you search for "12mm DC-motor with planetary gearbox" there are many available variants. Also try to choose a motor with a winding already for 12V so you won't run in to the issues I have with a too fast motor as mine has a 4,5V winding.
Ballbearings: OD=15mm ID=10mm T=4mm https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=ballbearing+15x10x4&_sacat=0
Door is kept shut using round magnets, 4mm long and 4mm diameter. For hinges I used M3 nylon screws mounted on the top and bottom of the door and with their heads cut off so that roughly 3mm sticks out from the door. that works well as a hinge mechanism.
Screws needed are M2 and M3.
I mounted the LED strip on a pre-cut piece of paper that was then glued in place. Almost the entire LED strip fit in the box, so rougly 300 LED's.
A few words about the parts:
Foot - print 4pcs, preferribly in TPU or other flex
Platform-bearing-plug - you need 3pcs of these for the ball bearings that supports the rotating platform.
Chamber - This massive piece can be printed without support! There will be a few sagging lines here and there but it worked beyond expectation to print without any support.