Introduction: Adjusting for Changes in Light Intensity With the Ember Printer
The light intensity (or irradiance) of the Ember printer varies from day to day for a number of reasons. Ultimately, this variation can lead to failure in the printing process. Too much light, and the printed part will stick to the window, and jam the printer. Too little and no polymer forms.
The easiest way to account for this change is to measure the light intensity of the printer, and then adjust the exposure time, so that the dose (total amount of light received) is the same from day to day. That is
Dose of light (mJ/cm2) = Light intensity (mW/cm2) x exposure time (s)
This Instructable will outline how to measure the light intensity with a G&R Labs 221 radiometer with a 420 nm probe. An ILT1400 radiometer and an SEL005 probe and an A#28762 filter would also work. However, the build arm of the printer needs to be removed beause of the size of the probe
Step 1: First We Clean
First the printer tray needs to be removed, drained, and carefully cleaned with a solvent (isopropanol preferably). Any resin left on the window will be transferred to the radiometer probe and gunk it up.
Step 2: Upload a Test File
The next step is to upload a test file to printer the irradiates a large area. One way would be too upload a large block (64 mm x40 mm x1 mm) to Emberprinter.com. Another easier is to upload the attached calibration file to the printer. This can be done by connecting to the printer via wifi or USB, and then uploading it at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.7.2. Alternatively, one can hold down the left button on the printer fror 5 seconds, and then upload to the IP address of the printer.
Attachments
Step 3: Measure
Next remove the build head (so that there is room for the probe) and start the print. For the G&R labs radiometer the range should be set to 200 and the the other switch to "MW/CM2". If your measurement is continually increasing, you are probably measuring the dose, not the irradiance.
Step 4: Adjust the Exposure Time
The final step is to adjust the exposure time so that the dose is the same as a value that worked before using the following equation.
Dose of light (mJ/cm2) = Light intensity (mW/cm2) x exposure time (s)
I have attached a chart showing thw working curve I have found to work for Autodesk Standard Clear at 25 to 50 microns. The dose required will vary resin to resin, and with layer thickness.
6 Comments
6 years ago
Excellent information. I need to buy a light meter now.
A couple of questions:
How did you generate the curves? Did you measure the light value before each print and correlate it to a pass/fail of the final part?
I find the exposure time required can vary based on geometry. What type of part was used to validate the pass/fail?
Do you have these curves for other materials?
7 years ago
I am not sure what is going on. Please file a ticket here and Cappie will solve it.
https://support.ember.autodesk.com/hc/en-us/reques...
7 years ago
Anyone experienced a total whitewash by the projector... At this point my projector is dialed to 11 and is curing everything everywhere.
7 years ago
Anyone experienced a total whitewash by the projector... At this point my projector is dialed to 11 and is curing everything everywhere.
7 years ago on Introduction
Interesting read !
I have a question:
During your tests, did you find a deviation of light intensity across the print area?
I am placing a few copies of the same model, some grow, some fail. Could my build area have variable light intensity?
Some printers have a compensation mask for each printer to compensate for that.
Others have a build in radiometer so the user adjusts manual before each build.
How does Ember handle it?
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
There is some deviation across the build area, and we are in the process of developing a software correction method for it. However, this deviation is much smaller than the variation in the window transmission over time.