Fig 1.
Set of printed opto-mechanical components.
(A) A Michelson interferometer implemented with opto-mechanical components made in plastic. (B) Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), a method of rapid prototyping: 1. Nozzle ejecting molten material (plastic), 2. Deposited material (modelled part), 3. Controlled movable table. (C) Printing a component using a Prusa-Tairona printer.
Fig 2.
(A) Nuts of different shapes embedded on the plastic immediately after fabrication. (B) Drive screw mechanism implemented using a nut embedded in the plastic and a screw. The precision in the displacement is limited by the nut’s thread. (C) Linear bearings can be replaced by holes carefully made in plastic through which passes a metallic rod.
Fig 3.
(A) Finished kinematic mount with mirror mounted. (B) 3D model of plastic components (KM top: leftmost component, KM bottom: rightmost component). (C) Components required to build the kinematic mount.
Table 1.
Bill of Materials for Kinematic Mount.
Fig 4.
(A) Finished translation stage. (B) 3D model of plastic components (TS top: leftmost component, TS bottom: rightmost component). (C) Components required to build the translation stage.
Table 2.
Bill of Materials for Translation Stage.
Fig 5.
3D printed integrating sphere.
Panel (A). Integrating sphere using a webcam as a detector. Panel (B). 3D model of the plastic integrating sphere. The inner sphere is printed as a complete piece. In the figure the sphere is divided in two sections for illustrative purposes. Panel (C). Integrating sphere operating when the laboratory lights are turned off.
Table 3.
Bill of Materials for Integrating Sphere.
Fig 6.
Experimental setup used to characterize 3D printed components.
(A) Setup used to compare two kinematic mounts; KM kinematic mount under test. (B) Setup used to compare two translation stages; TS translation stage under test.
Fig 7.
Experimental results kinematic mount.
Centroid position as a function of the X knob (A) and Y knob (B).
Fig 8.
Experimental results translation stage.
Centroid position as a function of the mirror displacement in millimeters.
Fig 9.
Experimental results integrating sphere.
(A) device response as a function of the intensity (area behind image histogram) for R = 100pixels. (B) Comparison with a commercial power meter after calibration. Maximum error 0.6μW.