This article introduces the principle of oxygen integration technology for DLP 3D printers and the advantages of printing jewelry
Principle of oxygen integration technology for DLP 3D printer
DLP (Digital Light Processing) 3D printing technology works based on the characteristics of light-cured resins. Firstly, DLP printers use DMD (Digital Micro Projection Chip), which consists of millions of tiny mirrors. Each mirror can independently control the tilt angle to adjust the direction of light projection. The number of internal reflection mirrors in DMD determines the resolution of printing. Before printing begins, DLP will divide it into numerous thin layers based on the data of the 3D model. When the printer is running, it will project a layer of images composed of millions of tiny light dots onto the photosensitive resin, with each light dot corresponding to a pixel, which promotes the resin to solidify into the desired shape. Afterwards, the printing platform gradually rises, repeating the printing process layer by layer until the entire model is completed.
The principle of oxygen integration technology in DLP 3D printers is to reasonably control the presence and distribution of oxygen in the printing area. During the photocurable resin printing process, oxygen has the property of inhibiting resin curing. In conventional photocurable printing, without oxygen integration technology, the resin surface layer will solidify when light shines on the photosensitive resin. However, through oxygen integration technology, oxygen can be moderately allowed to contact certain areas of the resin surface, where the solidification process of the resin surface will be delayed or incomplete due to the presence of oxygen. This precise control helps to prevent excessive solidification of the resin during printing, reduce adhesion problems between layers, and improve the fineness of the printed model. It can better control the curing behavior of resin, thereby improving the accuracy and success rate of printing when printing thinner or finer structural parts, and reducing the occurrence of defects. For example, when printing small textures or delicate carved structures on jewelry, these details can be presented more accurately.
The advantages of oxygen integration technology in jewelry printing
(1) Improve printing accuracy
- In jewelry printing, it is often necessary to print very fine structures and extremely small parts, such as diamond-set micro-trays or gold wire structures filled with fine patterns. Oxygen integration technology can accurately control the degree and range of resin solidification, effectively avoiding structural deformation or detail loss caused by excessive resin solidification when printing these fine parts. For example, when printing ring surfaces with fine micro-carvings, oxygen integration technology can ensure that the edges of each micro-carving are clear and complete, and will not be affected by excessive solidification of the surrounding resin, which will affect its shape accuracy.
- Usually, there are many thin-walled structures or narrow connecting parts in jewelry design, which are prone to problems with traditional printing. However, oxygen integration technology can achieve more precise width control and strength assurance when printing these thin-walled and narrow connecting structures by reasonably controlling the reaction between resin curing and oxygen, avoiding problems such as structural fracture or incomplete printing.
(2) Improving surface quality
- Smooth surface quality is particularly important in jewelry products, as it directly affects the appearance and texture of the jewelry. Oxygen integration technology can adjust the solidification of the resin surface, reducing defects such as spots and unevenness on the resin surface during printing. Taking the printing of smooth jade-shaped pendants as an example, using this technology can make the surface of the pendant as smooth as if it has been carefully polished, presenting a better gloss.
- When oxygen integration technology is not used, due to the incomplete control of the curing behavior of the resin during the printing process, there may be a problem of uneven transition between layers, resulting in obvious layer texture from the appearance. The intervention of oxygen integration technology can effectively improve this layer texture phenomenon, making the connection between layers more natural and smooth, just like a piece of integrated jewelry.
(3) Reduce the demand for supporting structures
- In DLP 3D printing, in order to stabilize some cantilevered structures or complex shapes, it is usually necessary to add support structures. In jewelry printing, excessive support structures not only increase the workload of subsequent removal, but also easily damage the surface of the jewelry during removal.
- Oxygen integration technology has a unique control method for resin curing, which can improve the stability of some structures during the printing process to a certain extent, thereby reducing the need for support structures while ensuring successful printing. For example, when printing an accessory with multiple hollow structures and complex shapes, with the help of oxygen integration technology, the structure that originally required a large amount of support can be reduced in number of supports or successfully printed without support, which not only reduces the workload of post-processing, but also avoids defects on the jewelry surface that may be caused by removing support.
Development status of oxygen integration technology for DLP 3D printers
(1) The initial stage of technological development
- Currently, the oxygen integration technology in DLP 3D printing technology is still in its infancy. From the perspective of the overall development of 3D printing technology, although 3D printing has made great progress, oxygen integration technology is still being explored and improved. Its unique potential has been demonstrated in laboratories and some R & D projects, but there is still a distance from large-scale mature industrial applications. For example, in a few high-end jewelry 3D printing laboratories, this technology can be seen being applied to some creative jewelry printing samples, but it has not yet been fully popularized in the entire jewelry manufacturing industry.
- With the continuous deepening of research on 3D printing materials, more and more photosensitive resin materials have been developed to meet different printing needs. Oxygen integration technology also needs to be combined with these new materials, and the collaborative development in this area needs to be further strengthened. New photosensitive resin materials may have different curing characteristics, which requires oxygen integration technology to adjust control strategies to achieve the best printing results. However, the adaptability research of this material-technology is not comprehensive and in-depth enough.
(2) Limitations and breakthrough directions of commercial applications
- In terms of commercial applications, DLP 3D printers with oxygen integration technology are relatively expensive. This makes it difficult for many small and medium-sized jewelry manufacturers to afford the investment cost of such equipment, limiting the rapid promotion of this technology in the entire jewelry industry. For example, in some smaller jewelry studios, due to limited budgets, it is difficult to purchase DLP 3D printers with oxygen integration technology, and traditional light-cured 3D printers or simpler production processes can only be used.
- Despite cost constraints, oxygen integration technology has begun to be applied on a small scale in the high-end jewelry customization field. Some high-end jewelry brands see the huge potential of this technology in improving jewelry quality and achieving unique designs. In order to pursue higher product precision and unique design sense, these brands are willing to invest in this advanced technology equipment and cooperate with scientific research institutions to continuously explore the optimization solution of oxygen integration technology in jewelry printing, hoping to occupy a leading position in the high-end market.
(3) Technological innovation and research trends
- Research on oxygen integration technology for DLP 3D printers is moving towards a more intelligent direction. Researchers are trying to achieve real-time monitoring and precise control of oxygen concentration through sensors and automatic control systems. For example, by installing high-precision oxygen sensors in the printing cavity, real-time oxygen concentration data of the printing area can be obtained, and then the intelligent control system can automatically adjust the supply and distribution of oxygen according to different parts of the printed part and different printing stages. This will better leverage the advantages of oxygen integration technology in improving printing accuracy and quality. Although this aspect is currently in the research stage, some phased results have been achieved, and it is expected to be further improved and practically applied in the next few years.
- In addition, the integration with other technologies is also a trend in current research. For example, by combining oxygen integration technology with multi-layer printing technology, oxygen-related optimization control can be carried out for the characteristics of each layer when printing multi-layer structure jewelry. Or by combining with microfluidic control technology, it is more accurate and efficient in providing resin solutions containing precise concentration of oxygen to the printing area. The concept of this technology integration is expected to bring more innovation and performance improvement to the oxygen integration technology of DLP 3D printers.
