Upside down Form1?

Feature Requests & Ideas
1

I’m not sure how doable this is, but would it be possible to modify the form1 or to make a version that prints from the top instead? Meaning the laser shoots down into a tub of resin from the top, curing a thin layer of resin as the base slowly moves down? This way you won’t need the peeling mechanism, resulting in cleaner prints, faster prints, less supports. Also, you can pretty much use anything as a resin tank, and don’t have to worry about the silicone coating, or optical quality of the tank, etc.

In theory, all you would need to do is, flip the form 1, disconnect the peeling mechanism, somehow hot-wire the z axis to move in the opposite direction, invert and modify the base a little, and make a simple frame to hold the printer in that position and the tub of resin.

What do you guys think?

2

That’s how traditional SLA printers worked.  Problems are, the resin tank always has to be full of enough resin to fill the build volume (2.2L,) plus a significant overhead (probably 25%+).  Also needs to be perfectly level and know the fill level of the tank to micron resolution.

Also it’s slower because it either needs to dunk the top layer so it gets completely covered with resin, then needs to put it back to the surface 1 layer thickness lower, and sit for a while for the liquid resin to settle flat.  Or it needs a wiper mechanism.