Economical spindle and bearing in 3D resin printers with high precision

• What was needed: drylin® linear bearing technology, dryspin® lead screw technology, iglidur ® plain bearing technology
• Requirements: High travel accuracy, ideally less than 50 micrometres, and low costs were required.
• Industry: 3D printers
• Success for the customer: Thanks in part to the good price-performance ratio of the spindle and bearing products, the customer can present the public with a comparatively inexpensive but highly professional, powerful and precise 3D printer for the rapid development of prototypes.

Lumi Industries is dedicated to individual customer solutions in the field of 3D printing. In 2015, for example, the "LumiPocket LT" was launched, a resin printer that was designed to be compact and easy to use at low cost.
The next evolutionary stage of this resin printer, the "LumiForge", now comes with a number of improvements following extensive customer feedback. The system is equipped with two systems: One supports the movement of a projector, which can be used to create print areas of different sizes - the other supports the precise movement of the carriage on which the printed object is created. The resolution on the X and Y axes of a printed object results from the resolution of the projector. However, the central element of a 3D DLP resin printer is the Z-axis motion system, which is critical to resolution. Lumi Industries was looking for a linear bearing solution that would guarantee high accuracy, in the best case less than 50 micrometres. It was at least as important to keep costs as low as possible in order to make the 3D printers affordable for small companies, craftsmen and freelance designers and to offer innovative rapid prototype technologies.

For the 3D printer, Lumi Industries opted for dryspin® lead screw technology consisting of a trapezoidal threaded spindle in conjunction with an internally threaded screw with flange. These form the centrepiece of the 3D resin printer. The lead screw technology fulfils the requirements for the most fluid and precise movement of the linear slide on the Z-axis of the machine.
An iglidur ® bushing, which blocks the upper apex of the screw, also gives the system a high degree of stability, which also emphasises the smooth running and low vibration of the drylin® components. Thanks to the three components from the drylin® modular product system, Lumi Industries was able to achieve a minimum print resolution of 37.5 microns. A low price was also important in order to be able to serve the desired customer groups, which largely consisted of private customers and freelancers, with an affordable product. Thanks to a good price-performance ratio of the spindle and stock products, the company can present the public with a comparatively affordable but highly professional, powerful and precise 3D printer for the rapid development of prototypes.