<p>I contacted the manufacturers of curing stations directly and got some interesting feedback. Not all of them were keen on sharing their information, but two responded:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mercury-plus-2-in-1-washing-and-curing-machine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Elegoo</a> is using <strong>Polypropylene</strong></li>
<li><a href="https://www.creality.com/goods-detail/creality-uw-01-washing-curing-machine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Creality</a> is using <strong>polycarbonate</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>I am sure they are using some additional UV blocking on the plastics with a coating, but thats all I could find out.
Thanks to @Greenonline for pointing me in the right direction!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-12T16:08:00.400Z
2021-01-12T16:08:00.400Z
OYPS
<p>I want to build my own curing station for my resin printed parts.
I know there are a lot of prebuilt machines but they do not completely satisfy my needs.</p>
<p>I now want to know which material i can use to cover the chamber, but still be able to see inside.
The material should therefore block UV light but still be transparent.</p>
<ul>
<li>The material should be transparent to only light above the UV spectrum, but should block UV light (UV-A, UV-B if possible)</li>
<li>The material should be purchasable in sheets to be able to build a cover out of it (e.g. acrylic sheets)</li>
<li>the color is not relevant as long as you can see through it</li>
</ul>
<p>The questions is now, which material satisfies those points?
You can find reference on existing machines like the <a href="https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mercury-plus-2-in-1-washing-and-curing-machine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Elegoo Mercury Pro</a> or the <a href="https://formlabs.com/de/wash-cure/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Formlabs Form Wash</a>. Maybe somebody knows which material has been used by either one of them.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T10:46:10.940Z
I’m voting to close this question because this appears like a shopping recommendation - which is not allowed on the stack.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T10:59:33.920Z
This is not a shopping question, rather a technical question which material blocks UV
OYPS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T12:05:46.433Z
The elego and formlabs machines you point to are cleaning stations and use 400 nm by the way. As a side note: you can't print a material that is transparent to 400 nm light.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T12:18:12.000Z
Their product pages state otherwise: the elegoo Mercury uses a combination of 385nm and 405nm. The formlabs one uses 405nm. I just double checked. I know I can’t print that, I was thinking about using acrylic Glas or something similar
OYPS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T12:28:39.777Z
Transparent to **what** light is the least you need to point out
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T12:57:27.277Z
Polycarbonate blocks UV.  Have you investigated material properties?
Perry Webb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T15:58:41.637Z
It should be transparent to above UV spectrum light. I researched a lot of materials, but I am unsure about their UV characteristics. A lot of their data sheets (when you buy them online) state things like _UV-resistant_. Maybe I should rephrase my question: what materials do Elegoo and Formlabs use on their machines?
OYPS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T17:02:39.483Z
It *might* be a good idea to rephrase, but then again, you would be changing the sense of the question completely. I personally would leave the title as it is, but edit and expand the body of the question: firstly with information both requested and that you have added in the comments (comments tend to get cleared up (i.e. deleted) after a while, so you want any additional info in the actual question text), and;
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T17:02:43.837Z
secondly, with information that you have researched yourself, i.e. links to datasheets and quote the relevant information from those datasheets, so that we don't have to go googling and reading them ourselves. Basically the more information the better, and the more likely that you'll get an answer... Hi and welcome to SE.3DP BTW...! :-)
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T19:44:44.370Z
thanks @Greenonline for the comment and the warm welcome. I have updated my question with all the information i have.
OYPS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-06T20:01:23.173Z
If no one here knows, then you might try emailing the manufacturers' support? I have managed to answer some similar type proprietary questions by just emailing the company. Maybe a friendly enquiry might yield some result, although they may not be willing to divulge their company secrets... If you *do* get a reply, don't forget to post the answer here :-)
Greenonline
<diy-3d-printer><resin><sla>
How to block UV light (transparent material)?
OYPS
# How to block UV light (transparent material)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-06)

I want to build my own curing station for my resin printed parts.
I know there are a lot of prebuilt machines but they do not completely satisfy my needs.

I now want to know which material i can use to cover the chamber, but still be able to see inside.
The material should therefore block UV light but still be transparent.

* The material should be transparent to only light above the UV spectrum, but should block UV light (UV-A, UV-B if possible)
* The material should be purchasable in sheets to be able to build a cover out of it (e.g. acrylic sheets)
* the color is not relevant as long as you can see through it

The questions is now, which material satisfies those points?
You can find reference on existing machines like the [Elegoo Mercury Pro](https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mercury-plus-2-in-1-washing-and-curing-machine) or the [Formlabs Form Wash](https://formlabs.com/de/wash-cure/). Maybe somebody knows which material has been used by either one of them.

**Tags:** diy-3d-printer, resin, sla

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I’m voting to close this question because this appears like a shopping recommendation - which is not allowed on the stack.  
> **username_0**: This is not a shopping question, rather a technical question which material blocks UV  
> **username_1**: The elego and formlabs machines you point to are cleaning stations and use 400 nm by the way. As a side note: you can't print a material that is transparent to 400 nm light.  
> **username_0**: Their product pages state otherwise: the elegoo Mercury uses a combination of 385nm and 405nm. The formlabs one uses 405nm. I just double checked. I know I can’t print that, I was thinking about using acrylic Glas or something similar  
> **username_1**: Transparent to **what** light is the least you need to point out  
> **username_2**: Polycarbonate blocks UV.  Have you investigated material properties?  
> **username_0**: It should be transparent to above UV spectrum light. I researched a lot of materials, but I am unsure about their UV characteristics. A lot of their data sheets (when you buy them online) state things like _UV-resistant_. Maybe I should rephrase my question: what materials do Elegoo and Formlabs use on their machines?  
> **username_3**: It *might* be a good idea to rephrase, but then again, you would be changing the sense of the question completely. I personally would leave the title as it is, but edit and expand the body of the question: firstly with information both requested and that you have added in the comments (comments tend to get cleared up (i.e. deleted) after a while, so you want any additional info in the actual question text), and;  
> **username_3**: secondly, with information that you have researched yourself, i.e. links to datasheets and quote the relevant information from those datasheets, so that we don't have to go googling and reading them ourselves. Basically the more information the better, and the more likely that you'll get an answer... Hi and welcome to SE.3DP BTW...! :-)  
> **username_0**: thanks @username_3 for the comment and the warm welcome. I have updated my question with all the information i have.  
> **username_3**: If no one here knows, then you might try emailing the manufacturers' support? I have managed to answer some similar type proprietary questions by just emailing the company. Maybe a friendly enquiry might yield some result, although they may not be willing to divulge their company secrets... If you *do* get a reply, don't forget to post the answer here :-)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-01-12. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I contacted the manufacturers of curing stations directly and got some interesting feedback. Not all of them were keen on sharing their information, but two responded:

* [Elegoo](https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mercury-plus-2-in-1-washing-and-curing-machine) is using **Polypropylene**
* [Creality](https://www.creality.com/goods-detail/creality-uw-01-washing-curing-machine) is using **polycarbonate**

I am sure they are using some additional UV blocking on the plastics with a coating, but thats all I could find out.
Thanks to @username_3 for pointing me in the right direction!


---

