Personal Film Development Tank

Final Report: Final Report PRJ60403 Sem 4 August 2018.pdf

The aim for this project was to create a personal film development tank that the user can use at home. Film photography was increasing in interest among enthusiasts within the photography hobby during that time. This sudden rise in interest for film photography has affected photo labs that are not able to keep up with the demand of processing films. As such wait times are long and the price is high. The team sees a potential business value in creating a personal film development tank that allows users to process their own films at home, reducing the overall costs of the hobby, allow for newcomers to try this hobby without spending too much money.

The chemicals used for developing the films are Ilfotec HC and Ilford Rapid Fixer. These chemicals are easily found online and are not dangerous upon contact. These chemicals are also diluted during use, reducing the dangers further. 

The prototype consists of 3 reservoir tanks. Each tank contains the chemicals as stated above as well as distilled water to wash out the chemicals during development. Film development is a time sensitive process. As such, it is important that the film does not get exposed to the chemicals for longer than required to ensure the film is developed successfully. 

An outlet is placed at the bottom of the development tank. This is to collect the chemicals from the development process. These chemicals can be returned to photo labs for recycling and photo labs will gladly accept the chemical waste. The team was able to develop monochromatic film from the film development tank.