A 3D Printed Toolbox for Opto-Mechanical Components

Abstract

In this article we present the development of a set of opto-mechanical components (a kinematic mount, a translation stage and an integrating sphere) that can be easily built using a 3D printer based on Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and parts that can be found in any hardware store. Here we provide a brief description of the 3D models used and some details on the fabrication process. Moreover, with the help of three simple experimental setups, we evaluate the performance of the opto-mechanical components developed by doing a quantitative comparison with its commercial counterparts. Our results indicate that the components fabricated are highly customizable, low-cost, require a short time to be fabricated and surprisingly, offer a performance that compares favorably with respect to low-end commercial alternatives.

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“…The combination of 3D printing, simple hardware and Arduino-based electronics has proven to be a very effective alternative to substitute expensive and sometimes over-engineered systems with equipment that, despite costing a fraction of its commercial counterpart, can be used to perform state-of-the-art research [1,23]. This is precisely the case of aligning a beam through two irises and coupling light in an optical fiber.…”

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