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.