US Patent 11186040 Precision optical assembly for three dimensional printing

A three dimensional printer includes a projector, an adaptive support apparatus, a resin support apparatus, and a plurality of vertical struts. The projector includes a projection lens module which includes an optical housing that contains a series of lenses for projecting an image from the projector onto a build plane. The projection lens module includes a laterally extending flange having an upwardly facing flange surface. The adaptive support apparatus includes a downward facing surface in facing relation with the upward facing flange surface. The resin support apparatus is configured to contain resin and includes a transparent sheet and a downward facing surface. The transparent sheet defines a lower bound for the resin proximate to a build plane. The plurality of vertical struts couple an upward-facing surface of the adaptive support apparatus to the downward-facing surface of the resin support apparatus.