I am very cautious in handling the resin tank from being contaminated with resin, finger print. So I am wondering if the tank can be built by glasses so the maintenance becomes simple. Do you think the reflection, refraction and UV absorption are the main problems comparing with acrylic? Any thought?
I think an all-glass tank may be somewhat dangerous, considering the forces involved inside the printer. If the tank were to be accidentally positioned poorly and something shatters it, there’d be a lot of resin mess and glass to clean up. Acrylic is shatter resistant and apparently transmits more light than glass does, so perhaps that’s why it’s used for the build platform. I know your feelings, though! I also don’t like how prone to damage the acrylic’s optical surfaces are. The plastic film they use to protect it during shipping and handling sticks to the surface and leaves slight marks, and I usually have to try and gently clean it off before I print (not sure if it makes much difference).
I wonder if it would be good to have a thin glass overlay on both the inside and outside surfaces of the optical surfaces of the tank? This would make it easier to polish and keep clean, since glass isn’t as prone to scratches as acrylic, and would perhaps keep the optical clarity of the acrylic. I’m thinking of something like how coverslips are adhered to microscope slides.