Publication Year:
Author(s): Shannon M. Hamp, Riley D. Logan, Joseph A. Shaw
Abstract
The increasing prevalence of three-dimensional (3D) printing of optical housings and mounts necessitates a better understanding of the optical properties of printing materials. This paper describes a method for using multithickness samples of 3D printing materials to measure transmittance spectra at wavelengths from 400 to 2400 nm [visible to short-wave infrared (IR)]. In this method, 3D samples with material thicknesses of 1, 2, 3, and 4 mm were positioned in front of a uniform light source with a spectrometer probe on the opposing side to measure the light transmittance. Transmission depended primarily on the thickness and color of the sample, and multiple scattering prevented the use of a simple exponential model to relate transmittance, extinction, and thickness. A Solidworks file and a 3D printer file are included with the paper to enable measurements of additional materials with the same method.
Citation
Hamp, S. M., Logan, R. D., & Shaw, J. A. (2021). Optical transmittance of 3D printing materials. Applied Optics, 60(22), 6573. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.427525