An MSLA 3D Printer and Some Cheap Plywood Sheets Deliver Impressive Front Panels
Looking for something a little swish on your next project box? If you've got a resin-based MSLA printer available, give this technique a go.
Pseudonymous maker "bluesyann" has come up with a neat, low-cost way to create professional-looking front panels for electronics projects: using a masked stereolithographic apparatus (MSLA) 3D printer to print directly onto plywood sheets.
"In my audio and electronics projects, I always struggled to make decent‑looking front panels," bluesyann explains. "I usually ended up with a badly drilled piece of metal or wood, with crooked LEDs, switches and pots poking through. Sometimes I even taped on hand‑written labels because I couldn't remember what each control did. That painful era is over! After getting an MSLA 3D printer and doing a few experiments, I finally found a quick way to make clean, professional‑looking panels for my projects."
The most common type of 3D printer, the fused filament fabrication (FFF) printer, works by melting solid plastic and squeezing it through an extruder to build up a print layer-by-layer. A masked stereolithographic apparatus (MSLA) printer, by contrast, works with a liquid resin that solidifies under ultraviolet light — exposure to which is controlled by a digital mask on a high-resolution monochrome liquid-crystal display positioned between the resin vat and the UV light.
Traditionally, an MSLA printer builds its objects layer-by-layer on a build plate — but bluesyann's approach to creating front panels adds something new to the mix: a sheet of plywood. Sanded smooth and attached to the build plate with tape, which in some cases may require the use of an alternative build plate mount to prevent the combination being too high for the printer's Z-axis adjustment settings, the plywood absorbs enough of the resin to make the printed parts adhere cleanly. The result: crisply-printed and slightly-raised labeling, with component cutout positions clearly marked for drilling.
The approach is detailed on Instructables; those looking to give it a go should pay attention to the guide on soaking the finished panel in isopropyl alcohol, scrubbing it clean, and drying it post-printing to prevent contact with uncured resin when the panel is installed and in-use.