DIY Polishing Station
chizMay 9, 2022
Description
A DIY polishing station to smoothen 3d-printed parts built using Arduino and portable humidifier.
Note: Only tested on Polymaker's Polysmooth filament and 70% ethyl alcohol.
How I Designed This
Polymaker's Polysher in combination with Polysmooth is a revolutionary product. I wanted one.
However, since I missed the Kickstarter campaign, I didn't want to pay higher ticket price plus I can't wait for May for the pre-orders to get shipped so I decided to make one instead.
Having an Arduino kit lying around, I only needed to find a suitable humidifier/mister and container to build the polishing machine.
After, weeks of waiting forcomponents, finalizing the Arduino sketch, and printing the parts, here's the result!
As I have several parts left over from previous projects and been sourcing out most of the parts from China, my total cost for this build was a little over $50. Here's the link to the bill of materials.
See Change Log section for the component connections (Fritzing diagram) and the Arduino sketch.
DISCLAIMER
Should you decide to build one yourself, I cannot be held liable/responsible for whatever injury or damage that you incur as a result from the making and/or improper use of this machine.
Operating the DIY polishing station
Initial setup
Eevee model printed using PolySmooth (Snow White) with 1.6mm wall thickness, polished for 35 mins. using 70% ethyl alcohol.
Printed cute octopus using Polysmooth Natural (from Polymaker sampler pack)
Close-up of the polished cute octopus
Change Log
2017-04-03:
- Added piezo buzzer mount to power panel
- Uploaded Fritzing diagram
2017-04-04
- Uploaded Arduino sketch
- Uploaded screw gasket STL file (printed using PolyFlex material)
- Started drafting the User's Guide
2017-04-05
- Added screw cover to gasket to protect screws from getting exposed to alcohol (printed using PolyFlex material)
2017-04-06
- Uploaded exploded view and suggested optimal positioning of humidifier cover in relation to the polishing platform
Fritzing diagram showing how the electronic components are connected. Bottom right shows the portable humidifier PCB connected to a relay.
Screws shown with gaskets and cover added to prevent liquid from seeping in the screw holes and protect screws from alcohol exposure
Exploded view showing 3D-printed and some electronic components
Optimal position of humidifier cover in relation to the polishing platform. This ensures that mist coming from humidifier will easily reach the platform. Also, being in the front (rather than the back) makes the mist more visible while polishing.
Gallery
Bulbasaur model printed using PolySmooth (Snow White) with 1.6mm wall thickness, polished for 35mins using 70% ethyl alcohol.
Before and after polishing: Charmander model printed using PolySmooth (Snow White) with 2.0mm wall thickness, polished for 45mins using 70% ethyl alcohol.
User's Guide v1.0
PARTS OF THE POLISHING STATION IMPORTANT! INTERACTING WITH THE POLISHING STATION
The polishing station is equipped with a control panel with a LCD and rotating push button to allow the user to interact with the machine.
The LCD will show different information and status depending on which mode the machine is on.
The rotating push button allows the user to send inputs to the machine and/or trigger various actions. There are three (3) ways to operate the rotating button:
1.Click - quick push and release of the rotating button 2.Hold - pushing the rotating button and waiting for two (2) seconds before releasing 3.Rotate - this is accomplished by rotating the button either clockwise or counterclockwise
OPERATING MODES
The polishing station has three (3) modes:
- Ready/idle mode
- Setup mode
- Polishing mode
The machine starts inIdle mode upon turning on.
READY MODE
SETUP MODE
POLISHING MODE
Category: Other
