DIY UV Curing Chamber Pt. 2

One thing I struggle with is knowing how much I need to explain a concept to another person. I tend to err on the side of starting with the fundamentals, but this can come across as mansplaining, and can waste a lot of time. So I’m going to try to assume that most people reading have a similar knowledge foundation to me. If I’ve failed to explain something adequately, just comment below and I’ll adjust in future blog posts accordingly!

Onto the project at hand: a UV curing chamber for resin 3D printed parts. My basic plan is to build some kind of enclosure that has a door on one side. My 10W UV floodlight will be attached to the enclosure and will be directed toward the interior of the box. Meanwhile, a motorized turntable will sit inside. I intend to coat the interior of the box with something reflective (probably aluminum tape) to help bounce the UV light around, hopefully exposing some of the nooks and crannies of the prints.

My first thought was mount the UV lamp horizontally, like this:

However, if I have, say, a tubular part, the inner surface won’t get any direct exposure, so I think I’ll mount the lamp higher up, pointing down at a 45 degree angle. Like this:

The next thing on my mind is the rough layout of the turntable. I’ve selected a 6V geared motor with a 34:1 reduction since I that should be able to eliminate the need for me to design any complicated reductions on my own. The motor is unfortunately somewhat long and narrow with the attached gearbox, so that will end up affecting the height of the enclosure for the turntable. I’m opting for the design on the right. I end up with a slightly wider footprint, but the overall height will be smaller.

I may still consider mounting the motor horizontally and implementing some kind of beveled spur gear arrangement, but having the motor protrude above the level of the turntable shouldn’t cause too many issues. In the interest of simplicity, I’m going to opt for this design for now.

Next up, I’m going to start roughing in a CAD model of the turntable, then design the enclosure around that. Nothing is set in stone, though, and I’m open to suggestion!

Keep on making, you beautiful bastards!