Blu: Precision and Strength

Resin printing can be more than for making nice looking models. With the right kind of resin, you can make make functional parts that reduce cost, increase research output and impress your colleagues with your design and printing skills.

Helio Queiroz is an engineer at a prominent SMT equipment maker. If you don't know what a SMT machine is, it is the super fast mechanical picker that insert tiny electronic components into tightly packed PCBs. Here is a picture of just how tiny those pieces can be:

In order to handle the size and the number of the components, a SMT machine has very precise while moving very fast. To push what Blu resin can do, Helio designed and printed a part for the picker:

Because of the precision required, the SMT device has sensors that will reject parts that are out of specs. The part has to be very precise in order to work. Helio printed the parts and done a side by side comparison:

And the here is a video of the tests Helio did:

This test first checks the precision of the Blu resin print. Then Helio checks for function where the SMT device uses the parts made with Blu resin to perform pick/mount operation. And the last part of the video is where Helio programmed the machine to ram the picked into the PCB at 2kg force to test for the part's strength.