3D Printing Research

Type Height and it’s Limitations

A wooden printing block suitable for letterpress

As noted in my proposal research, in order to create a printed impression on a printing press a letterpress block needs to be 0.918″ in height, other dimensions are measured in points (commonly abbreviated to pt) which is a unit of measurements based on divisions of an inch (72pt in an inch). This standardised height presents a set of specific challenges for contemporary production, primarily that the measurements are in imperial whilst most substrates available now are measured in metric.

0.918″ converted into metric is 23.3172mm

Thicknesses of substrates available in the UK are generally available in measurements such as 1,3,5,8,12,18mm. Thus when using a laser cutter to produce designs to be printed into a suitable material such as MDF, plywood or acrylic there will always be a portion of the block height that needs to be made up with something like paper.

Past Laser Cut Experiments

In the past (June 2016) I produced my own set of laser cut ornaments for printing which were laser cut 3mm MDF mounted onto 18mm MDF blocks with wood glue. Custom cut mount board and card was used to bring these to type height. Though useable, the use of loose card beneath each block made using them (particularly at the smaller sizes) laborious as sheets would move during printing. In some cases I glued all the components together but that introduced inconsistencies in their height as well as another stage in the process of their creation. The blocks printed successfully but due to the printing surface being glued by hand to the mounting block there was a very fine level of mis-registration present when similar blocks were over printed.

Laser cut 3mm MDF shapes and ornaments mounted onto 18mm MDF blocks. The largest measured 3″ and the smallest 1″.

Past 3D Printer Experiments

Previous to these experiments with laser cutters I have tried utilising early commercial 3D printers and in 2013 I tested a FDM printer. FDM or “Fused deposition modeling is the most widely used form of 3D printing at the consumer level. FDM works by extruding thermoplastics, such as ABS, PLA, through a heated nozzle, melting the material and applying the plastic layer by layer to a build platform. Each layer is laid down one at a time until the part is complete.” (Form Labs 2021).The best way to think about this method is like icing a cake with an icing bag. Though you can get some fine detail in the quality of the stroke, when filling in a large area the resulting surface has a lot of unnecessarily texture. The result of these experiments were a series of type height Helvetica Upper case A’s. Though the printing surface took ink well they required too much further sanding and finishing on the printing surface to be worthwhile creating in a large enough number to print an edition with.

My own 3D printed experiments in 2013.

Contemporary 3D printer technology

A comparison between an FDM and a SLA part showing the difference in the layer height and the resulting disparity in quality. (Form Lab 2021)

3d printing as a method of fabrication has advanced very rapidly in the past 10 years, both in regards to the methods used and machines available for the home user and crafts person. They have gone from very large machines requiring a whole workshop space allocated to them to small, desk mounted machines that are user serviceable. In particular there have been great advances in SLA, also known as stereolithography printing. As stated by Form Lab in their analysis of the medium, in SLA printing “liquid resin is cured by a highly-precise laser to form each layer, which can achieve much finer details and is more reliable to repeatedly achieve high-quality results” (2021). The bonds between layers created this way are incredibly fine and though different machines can produce different heights some like the Mars Pro can achieve a layer height of 0.01mm (Elegoo 2021).

Consumer units with a printing area of around 8cmx13cm are produced by many manufactures and are used by a thriving community of makers online. In all3dp.com’s overview of the many models available currently the 3D printing site, Mensley states that the machines themselves start at around £200 with a litre of resin costing between £20-£40 depending on the type/colour (2021). If I wanted to be able to create type from home during the lockdown, a resin printer seems to be the best option but some further research is needed. With there being many positives and negatives related to the introduction of the process I felt a SWOT chart would be helpful.

SWOT chart for 3D Printing

Strength

  • Streamline work flow by working and producing work, rather than working digitally at home and waiting till I can get access to the print room to laser cut.
  • Quality of printed surface appears to be very smooth.
  • 3D printing software appears to be able to make use of vector files produced in conventional 2d design software like Illustrator.
  • I learn new processes quickly and enjoy the experimental nature of learning.

Weakness

  • Upfront cost of machine
  • New software to learn.
  • Though there is a lot of community support online for model making using a resin.printer, printing blocks for print making is not as widely documented.
  • Use of potentially toxic chemicals at home and related safety concerns.
  • As a late addition to the project that wasn’t covered in the Proposal, will it still be able to integrate into the project?

Opportunity

  • University has a selection of technicians who may have knowledge on the subject.
  • With there not being evidence of many projects using the technology this way there may be an opportunity to get my research featured online and in.

Threats

  • How strong are resin prints? Will they crack if put under pressure?
  • How long does a print take?
  • How much will a solid block 1inch cubed cost? Will it be uneconomical to do a selection of letters in this way?
  • There appears to be various models and makes of printers available, which is the most suitable?
References
  • CHAN, N., 2020. Elegoo Mars 2 Pro $300 Resin 3D Printer Review![viewed Feb 14, 2021]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AWWRP12hGw&ab_channel=AdamSavage%E2%80%99sTested
  • ELEGOO, 2021. Mars Series LCD Printers 2021]. Available from: https://www.elegoo.com/collections/mars-series https://www.elegoo.com/collections/mars-series https://www.elegoo.com/collections/mars-series
  • FORM LABS, 2021. FDM vs. SLA: Compare the Two Most Popular Types of 3D Printers [viewed Feb 14, 2021]. Available from: https://formlabs.com/uk/blog/fdm-vs-sla-compare-types-of-3d-printers/
  • MENSLEY, M., 2021. 2021 Best Budget Resin 3D Printers (January) 2021]. Available from: https://all3dp.com/1/best-resin-dlp-sla-3d-printer-kit-stereolithography/ https://all3dp.com/1/best-resin-dlp-sla-3d-printer-kit-stereolithography/ https://all3dp.com/1/best-resin-dlp-sla-3d-printer-kit-stereolithography/
  • SANLADERER, T., 2020. 3D Printing Basics: Resin Printers! (Ep3) [viewed Feb 17, 2021]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TZ2R88rPoo
  • What 3D resin printers are available in 2021?2021. [viewed Feb 13, 2021]. Available from: https://www.3dnatives.com/en/top-10-resin-3d-printers280320174/