Hello,
I am trying to find a good commercially available UV curing chamber to cure parts coming off our Form 2. If anyone knows of a good quality chamber let me know.
Thanks,
Cody
Cody,
The first thing I did after ordering my Form 2 a couple weeks ago was to start looking around for a curing chamber. There are a lot of DIY and “nail salon” curing solutions out there, but nothing that I saw as a commercial unit.
I even asked my account manager at Formlabs if one was in development and was told no, that most people are using the nail salon method with relative success. As a mechanical engineer, I want something a bit more reliable than the currently offered solutions.
Well, that’s the bad news. I suspect it won’t be much use to you, but I am actively working with an electrical engineer on exactly what you (and me) are looking for. I don’t feel comfortable yet discussing this in detail on the forum, but I would be glad to discuss offline if you, or anybody else, are interested. I don’t expect to have anything ready to go for at least a couple months. What I do have though, will be well made, validated with Formlabs resins, simple, and very capable.
I suppose this is a good opportunity to poll the community for interest. Those who are interested, please chime in. This will help me plan my first build.
Regards,
Paul McGarr
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A unit like this is definitely needed, especially for castable resins. It would be great if you can build a waterproof one that can hold oxygen-excluding liquid.
I am building my own Curing box but I too would be interested in a commercial unit at a fair price.
Marco,
I am happy to tell you that the unit I am developing now will be compatible with wet curing through the use of a glass reservoir that we will specify, but not likely supply. The plan is for IP65 rating on all electronics, and this would cover the occasional spillage.
I understand those who desire very clear parts also cure underwater. I’m not convinced this is necessary, but my focus is on engineering properties, not aesthetics. The goal is the get the best.mechanical properties from the Formlabs resins.
Paul
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Hillzzz,
Fair is a very subjective term. I am still not 100% sure where pricing will land. I hoped to hit a sell price of $100, but that doesn’t appear to be realistic. My goal is lowest possible cost without sacrificing quality. So, I won’t add cost for pretty, or for bells and whistles. Just a simple reliable well built chamber with fixed wavelength, intensity, and temperature. I’ll commit to under $500, but now that I am in pretty deep it seems somewhere in the middle will work.
I should add, commercial units are in fact available, but they are up around $10k. They are super nice, but super expensive. A popular brand is Loctite and their parent company is Henkel I believe.
Paul
B9 have recently launched one.
http://www.b9c.com/shop/b9-model-cure-post-curing-3dprinting
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We have been using the one based on the LED chamber - sorry cant remember the original poster to give proper credit. However, instead of water, we place our objects under vacuum to exclude oxygen and that works really well to aid curing.
ESpy,
Thanks for the link. I wish I had seen that a couple weeks ago. I’ll have to take a closer look to make sure my project is still worth pursuing. I do not think the B9 has a heated chamber, and I can see the chamber is quite small. But, it looks like nice.
Paul
Fair means in this context not profiteering. I am happy to pay a quality price for a quality product. 10K for a tin box a, timer, fancy logo, and some UV tubes is probably over the top!
sorry cant remember the original poster
Me!
I’m sure there’s a market for a “commercially available” curing box. But you can make the one I “designed” for about $50. It works good. it’s as large as the print volume of both the Form1 and Form2, It’s 20 or 24W of UV so it also warms the print while curing it, the LEDs are on the outside of a plastic/glass container so you can fill the container with water to cure anaerobically, and they’re low voltage LEDs so if you spill water you’re chances of electrocution are minimal.
This part, photographed inside the curing jar, is about 160mm in diameter.
Hi Randy, sorry for that - couldn’t find the link to you!
Please forgive me for intruding. Unlike nail spas, UV curing ovens just aren’t mass-market products so I really doubt anyone will be marketing them at commodity prices anytime soon. (Please, please prove me wrong!)
But you certainly might find a bargain-priced secondhand UV oven, so let us compile a list of search terms and brand names.
Two Exampes of UV Ovens for commercial machines like V-Flash, ProJet, EnvisionTec, etc.
Otoflash (EnvisionTec)
EnvisionTec offers several models, but Otoflash is the only one whose name I can remember. (Sorry!)
new $4500 http://3nitysupply.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=139
used ?
V-Flash UV Curing Oven (3D Systems)
V-Flash is no longer supported so you might find a secondhand V-Flash UV oven at a lower price:
new $3000 (discontinued)
used $999 http://www.ebay.com/itm/162050206604
UV Crosslinker ovens are very costly when new, but the prices plummet for secondhand machines because they’re relatively plentiful. (I guess biotech laboratories don’t like to buy them second-hand.) Unfortunately, most machines come with 254 nm or 312nm UV-B lamps. It’s probably not cost-effective to replace UV-B lamps, but a secondhand crosslinker might be worthwhile if it has 405nm UV-A (gallium) lamps, or maybe 365nm UV-A lamps.
Stratagene Stratalinker 1800 US Oven (Agilent)
Cross-linkers can be re-purposed as UV curing ovens, but the
new $2100 (discontinued)
used $950 http://www.labx.com/item/stratagene-stratalinker-uv-crosslinker-2400/1527177
Sorry if that’s not immediately helpful, but I hope it’ll give you some usable search terms and brand names.
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Thank you for that valuable information, VeryWetPaint. This helps my search.
With regards to UV curing ovens not being mass-market products, neither are desktop SLA printers, and I believe Formlabs are doing OK. 
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A B9 também esta vendendo câmera UV https://www.b9c.com/shop/accessories/b9-denta-cure-post-curing-3dprinting
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How much to have you build one for me? George Earussi Philadelphia 215-925-3278
Geeze, George… I wouldn’t know what to charge. It’s really not tough to assemble, but you might be a little challenged finding all the parts. If you haven’t checked out my thread on making a “Curing Jar”, do check it out. I provided some info on where to get the LEDs and the Jar, and duct tape and Aluminum foil are likely things you can find on your own. I don’t think I said anything about where to get a power supply to make it work, but if you can’t find one for yourself, I can help you out with this, too. Just let me know!
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