Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Quest for an accessible uv photoinitiator for diy 3d printing resin

larh - 29-12-2023 at 11:57

Hello everyone! I'm slowly progressing on my quest to build my own home lab while gaining the necessary skills for the min dream project.
I'm using a 3d printer (mslaanycubic m5s) currently to prototype the device parts I need. Looking back into the last month I've spent so much on printing resin that it started making sense for me to consider blending my own resin. I doesn't have to be as good as commercially available, just would be enough if it holds the structure of the prototypes with decent precision.
Is there any easily accessible photoinitiator I could mix with acrylic or polyester resin and feed it to the printer?
Due to local customs restrictions (Indonesia) hardly I'll be able to import anything labeled as chemical supply from abroad, so it has to be something I can get here or make myself.

bnull - 15-1-2024 at 10:20

What about camphorquinone? It is made by oxidation of camphor and used in dental resins. Camphor is very accessible in Indonesia, I suppose.

EF2000 - 15-1-2024 at 11:17

In South and South East Asia camphor tablets are available as mothballs.

larh - 15-1-2024 at 23:42

Quote: Originally posted by bnull  
What about camphorquinone? It is made by oxidation of camphor and used in dental resins. Camphor is very accessible in Indonesia, I suppose.

Already considered that option since I can buy it pure in the local lab, but the issue is that it absorbs in 468nm which is past what my printer outputs(and also essentially makes the resin to be curable by visible light which complicates everything). I'd need to tinker with the printer or build a new one from scratch using a different light source to match the requirements

bnull - 16-1-2024 at 04:15

Flavone may work. See C. Vasquez-Martel et al. Natural and Naturally Derived Photoinitiating Systems for Light-Based 3D Printing.