Can 3D Printers Print Magnifying Lens?
The design of the 3D printed magnifying lens was inspired by a regular magnifying glass available today. This idea is to test out whether VeroClear material is capable of magnifying objects as well as a normal convex lens. The magnifying theory was used during the design of this lens. Once the theory has been set, the sketch was done in SolidWorks to produce a 3D object for further analysis of the theory.
Part Drawing
We also design the second magnifying glass with different dome height (5mm) for testing. At the end the glass with 10mm dome height shown the better result by magnified object.
Based on the technical drawing, the magnifying glass has been design with the same shape with the normal convex lens but with different dimension. Its circle was design with radius 25mm with height 3mm. The dome shape designed with 10mm height at the top of the circle.
Finishing (Sanding)
The finishing process of the lens uses several types of abrasive sandpapers. The first phase of the sanding process uses the type-400 abrasive sandpaper. The purpose of this type of sandpaper is to remove the printing lines present on the surface of the lens which was produced during the printing process. Once the lines have been removed, the type-800 sandpaper is then used for the second phase. The purpose of the type of sandpaper is to straighten the sanding lines from the type-400 sandpaper and produces a smooth surface onto the object. For the final phase of the sanding process, type-1000 and type-1200 are used respectively to give a much smoother surface onto the lens. Type-1500 is optional since type-1200 is sufficient to produce the required smoothness.
Finishing (Polishing)
The final step of producing lens was by polish the part by using cloth or the buffing machine. The main purpose of polish the Veroclear part was to make that part look very transparent and have a smooth surface. After finish sanding the part by using sandpaper, apply the soft99 (polishing liquid solvent) on its surface. Wait until the soft99 dry and start buff the surface either by using clean cloth or buffer machine. Repeat this process 3 times and its produce a transparent magnifying lens.
Conclusion
The results were conclude that the Veroclear material can be polish and produce a transparent glass as normal glass. On these activities also we can conclude that we can produce a 3D printed magnifying lens by using Polyjet technology.
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