3D printing and SHG

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taratasy
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3D printing and SHG

Post by taratasy »

Hi all,
Quick question for SHG makers here: have you ever considered using a 3D printer for making a SHG? 3D printing would allow easy and rapid design of small parts such as holders for grating, slit or lenses. The material is also pretty strong and very light.
For exemple I am currently making a small spectrograph for imaging absorption spectra of gemstones. The main body of the spectrograph and grating holder will be 3D printed. Colimator and camera lenses will be attached to the main body using custom-made flange screwed to the main body. This can easily be converted to an SHG by adding a telescope.

Modelled main body, final print will be 10cm in lenght and take 4 hours to be printed. You can see the two openings the lenses will be fixed on.
zdzdzd.jpeg
zdzdzd.jpeg (36.53 KiB) Viewed 4688 times
Printed grating holder. It needs just a bit of sandpaper and the grating should fit tightly inside.
IMG_0271.JPG
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Last edited by taratasy on Thu Oct 31, 2019 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by marktownley »

Good design work!


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by highfnum »

real cool

I gotta look into this 3D printing jazz
seems that it can solve a lot of issues
must find out what it cost and how much room it takes


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taratasy
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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by taratasy »

Thanks Mark :)

Highfnum,
Most cities and universities now have a "maker space" where 3D printing machines can be used for very cheap or even for free sometime. Generally you have to first take a short course to learn the basics, then you can come anytime and print anything you want by yourself. That is what I am doing right now. There is also the more expensive route to buy a dedicated 3D printing machine, but they come in all size and quality so you would have to do a lot of research.


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by p_zetner »

A great idea, well worth considering. Constructing an SHG out of metal parts can lead to a heavy build and care must be taken to ensure that the "engineering " leads to a solid, stable and adjustable assembly. 3D printing with plastic would certainly help with the weight issue.


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by taratasy »

Just finished printing the body of the specrograph. The grating holder will stick out from the small hole on the top for rotation.
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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by marktownley »

Way cool!


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by Merlin66 »

I agree!
Paul Gerlach has a LOWSPEC 3D design which seems to be popular......
If you’re considering a SHG, then a longer focal length spectrograph, to suit the telescope being used may be more appropriate.
Certainly seems the way of the future.....


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by GreatAttractor »

And here's a successful build of the LOWSPEC spectroscope (in Polish): https://astropolis.pl/topic/68522-wydru ... ektroskop/
First light: https://astropolis.pl/topic/69238-widmo ... o%C5%9Bci/


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by Merlin66 »

Very nice results!
Maybe you could suggest on their forum to look at BASS Project for the processing and measurement of the spectral images..
https://groups.io/g/BassSpectro
The program is available here:
https://groups.io/g/BassSpectro/files
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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by taratasy »

Hello all,
Here is an update on my 3D printed spectroscope. It works very well! I just had to cover it with alluminium tape to prevent light leaking through the plastic body.

Raw spectrum of a fluorescent lamp: you can see I have a "smile" problem, I don't really know how to avoid it.
IMG_1341s - copie.jpg
IMG_1341s - copie.jpg (368 KiB) Viewed 4494 times
Spectrum processed in photoshop: I loose a little bit of spectral resolution in the process but it is much nicer.
Fluo spectra.png
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The spectroscope:
IMG_0308.JPG
IMG_0308.JPG (1.11 MiB) Viewed 4494 times
IMG_0309.JPG
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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by Merlin66 »

Tara,
So far so good!
I would recommend you look at BASS project to process and calibrate your spectral image.
It will allow you to correct for tilt/ smile/ slant, measure FWHM and the R value of your instrument.
https://groups.io/g/BassSpectro


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by taratasy »

Thanks Ken,
I downloaded BASS. However I am working on a Mac, and the software cannot seem to run on my windows emulator. I will need to find a solution to have a windows partition on my mac to make it run.

Tara


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by p_zetner »

Beautiful spectrum. As Ken suggests, a determination of fwhm and R value of your device would be interesting to find out using BASS or similar software.

As far as “smile” is concerned, slower optics (higher f#) will help.


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by marktownley »

Impressive results!


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Re: 3D printing and SHG

Post by Montana »

What a beautiful spectrum :hamster:

Alexandra


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