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Hunter Community: We are pleased to report that the Hunter email and Wi-Fi systems are now back in service. To access these Hunter systems, you will need to reset your NetID password. Please go to the Hunter website for instructions on how to reset your password. CUNYFirst, Blackboard, student email and Zoom continue to be available and DO NOT require a password change. We continue to work diligently to bring all other affected systems back online. Again, we apologize for this interruption in service. Please continue to check the website and maintain access to CUNY Alerts for additional updates. Thank you again for your ongoing patience.

Electronics

Director: Dustin Wheeler, PhD

General Information

Providing instrumentation support, Dustin Wheeler, PhD, is available for consultation, general maintenance and troubleshooting regarding a variety of instrumentation. He also oversees a pair of 3D printers, which are available for use by members of the Department of Chemistry.

3D Printing Information

A few techniques dominate 3D printing: stereolithography (SLA), fused exposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), and inkjet printing. The 3D printers in the facility use FDM and SLA methods to manufacture parts.

FDM is a mechanical (rather than chemical) process, that builds up layers through the extrusion of semi-molten materials, typically thermoplastics.
Resolution is limited by the extrusion cross-section of material (i.e., the filament size), a few tenths of a millimeter on most printers. Final printed resolutions are typically a few hundred microns.

Hunter’s FDM machine is an Ultimaker 3, capable of printing a wide variety of thermoplastic materials. If your desired material isn’t on hand, filament can be ordered. Ultimaker has a number of first-party materials available for purchase, as well as a number of compatible third-party materials that have been tested for compatibility.

SLA is done via optical curing of specially formulated liquid resins. Generally this is done by using a UV laser, rastering the laser to form an image, or by displaying a UV mask over the printing surface using a projector. SLA is capable of very high resolutions, as low as a few dozen microns.

The department has a Form 2 printer that creates parts from a number of UV-curable polymer resins. Many of these resins are on-hand and available for immediate use.

Scheduling an appointment for a design consultation, modeling help, or to time to print a part is available online.