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Description
I just finished modding my projector for my LittleRP2 3D printer.

My printer is an DLP printer, which means it uses an HD video projector to cure photo curing liquid resin. The projector projects the slices of the model into a vat filled with the resin, curing each layer, slowly building up the completed model.

One problem I've been facing was the print times. It's been taking 3-4 hours for each print. I've basically had to try to plan days around it, and I think the long time has been causing some printing errors.

To speed up cure time with a projector you have to let more light through by removing the color wheel, or the UV filter, or both. Since I didn't feel like disassembling this thing beyond removing its case, and having to build blinds to protect from the UV emissions, I opted for the former.

You can't just unplug and remove the color wheel. The wheel has to be connected, otherwise the printer won't turn on. Rather than breaking the colored glass off the wheel as most people have, I decided to mount it elsewhere inside the projector. It just seemed rather dumb to break a $60+ part, and I would like to have the option of using this thing as a normal projector.

I simply made a new bracket out of a strip of metal (cut from scrap), removed the adjustable foot thing, drilled a hole into the bottom plastic, and bolted everything in.

I have yet to make a test print, but it turned on with no problem and projected a perfectly clear black and white image. No odd noises, no vibration, no nothing. Just the hum of the fans.

This should cut my print times to a third of what it was before.

Description
I just finished modding my projector for my LittleRP2 3D printer.

My printer is an DLP printer, which means it uses an HD video projector to cure photo curing liquid resin. The projector projects the slices of the model into a vat filled with the resin, curing each layer, slowly building up the completed model.

One problem I've been facing was the print times. It's been taking 3-4 hours for each print. I've basically had to try to plan days around it, and I think the long time has been causing some printing errors.

To speed up cure time with a projector you have to let more light through by removing the color wheel, or the UV filter, or both. Since I didn't feel like disassembling this thing beyond removing its case, and having to build blinds to protect from the UV emissions, I opted for the former.

You can't just unplug and remove the color wheel. The wheel has to be connected, otherwise the printer won't turn on. Rather than breaking the colored glass off the wheel as most people have, I decided to mount it elsewhere inside the projector. It just seemed rather dumb to break a $60+ part, and I would like to have the option of using this thing as a normal projector.

I simply made a new bracket out of a strip of metal (cut from scrap), removed the adjustable foot thing, drilled a hole into the bottom plastic, and bolted everything in.

I have yet to make a test print, but it turned on with no problem and projected a perfectly clear black and white image. No odd noises, no vibration, no nothing. Just the hum of the fans.

This should cut my print times to a third of what it was before.