SPIF 1.0
For designers and hobbyist engineers who feel new-aged 3D printers—which use light to initiate photo-curable resin in three dimensions simultaneously—are out of reach, SPIF 1.0 exemplifies a basic, DIY version, taking the technology out of the lab, and placing it in the garage workshop. Exploiting readily available parts, simple modifications, and open-source files, SPIF 1.0 prints without supports and cuts print times from hours to minutes.
On a mission to rescue a technology from the lab, placing it back in the hands of the consumer, SPIF—Simplified Projector Initiated Fabrication—takes advantage of axial lithography, voxel-based projections, and rotation mechanisms, among other physics and chemistry, to resin print objects in three dimensions simultaneously, rapidly, and without supports, limiting waste.
SPIF 1.0 is the result of roughly two months of precedent research, systems design, and communication, all in preparation for the 11 week development sprint which would follow. As of current, SPIF produces "blobified" geometries from basic geometric projections in only a few minutes, consistently, as desired.
A special thank you goes out to Professors Bob McLeod, Robert MacCurdy, and most notably, Postdoctoral Researcher, Alvin Li, and PhD Student, Patrick Cavanaugh for their regular support and feedback throughout this process!
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