Resin printing.

[Oliveros 11]

Hey Guys,

 

Got my hands on a Crealty ld-002r and I'm trying to get it to print properly but there's really not a lot of information out there compared to FDM.

 

If anyone here knows, I would appreciate the help and guidance.

 

My first question is this, someone told me that have to remove the resin after every print, clean the vat and bed and then pour in fresh resin, even if it's the same resin.

 

Is that the case?

 

When leveling the bed, in the very limited instructions it comes with, it tells me to put the bed directly on top of the screen that flashes the UV, when looking online, it seems like people put a piece of paper between them before settling it in, then there's Z-offset and other things that I just have no clue about and the manual doesen't say anything about it.

 

The first print I did came out horrible, one side of the bed came out okay, the other one was hanging off the support, that was due to me not having set the exposure time properly as I didn't go away from default settings but after this print, I checked the bottle and it said it needed more exposure time. 

 

The 2nd print went better but still not even close to success, the left side of the bed came out just fine, the right side was basically gone, it had done the supports but the object itself seemed to not have printed. I then followed what leveling instructions I had and it seemed to have that right side lifted slightly off the bed, so the bed was at an angle which would explain why it didn't work, so I corrected that and now I'm running another print.

 

I like the idea of the resin, it's just so darn messy it seems, requiring funnels and cups and all kinds of stuff.

 

Help!

[geert_2 558]

I have heard that there should be absolutely no broken-off bits and pieces of previous models left in the vat, because that would ruin the next prints. Maybe that is why they empty and clean the vat? And sift the resin? But I have no personal experience, except for seeing it once.

 

And yes, the "mess" and chemicals were some of the main reasons why we chose for FDM back then...

 

But I think you would best search a dedicated resin-printing forum for this, they are going to have way more experience and tips.

 

[Oliveros 11]

Hey Geert,

 

You are absolutely right, I think that's why they do it as well.

 

We ended up just trying to keep printing and we've gone 5 or 6 prints without cleaning it out and there's been no issues at all. 

 

If it was a critical or very long print, I would do it just to be safe, but otherwise, it seems totally fine.

 

We finally got it sorted and I have to say, resin printing is amazing, the finish is perfect. I'm happy with it, going to get some more engineering grade resins and try to make some parts and see what happens.

 

Thank you for responding.

[geert_2 558]

Good. And yes, this technology will come with its own new learning curve. I also like the fine details. I can imagine that for juwelry or very small railroad models, etc., this is fantastic.

 

In the beginning such resins tended to get brittle after exposure to the sun, because it was UV- or light-cured, and it kept curing further. Also in the beginning, freshly printed parts were subject to creep deformation on heavy loads. You had to let them post-cure first. This was years ago, and I don't know how things evolved since then. But it might be a good idea to test this on a couple of prints, before using parts in a critical design.

 

[Oliveros 11]

Yeah, we're kind of going crazy testing just because we are curious, modeled a threaded X barb fitting yesterday to try out in a pump.

 

Finish is superior though, no doubt about it, really loving it so far. 

 

Doing some cable management parts for a friend of mine as well as a camera mount.

 

Definetley don't have to clean the vat every time though, as long as the print went well, there's no uncured resin or pieces floating about, so then it's pretty easy.

 

I haven't done anything super detailed and small but I'm sure it's amazing.

[Carla_Birch 116]

I have a few resin printers, i don't personally change my resin out after a print. Long as the last print printed fine you have no need to filter it out, just a quick look by using a plastic scraper for any bits and you fine.

 

Most resins can be kept in the vat for weeks also some might just need a bit of a mix with the plastic scraper as some do split a little.

 

One of the biggest things that can effect resin printing from print to print is the temperature of the resin, so if you got the printer is a cold zone or store the resin in one then warm it up a little first. This is also why its a good idea to try not to top the vat up mid print as the resin warms up in the printer due to heat from being cured and if you tip fresh resin in mid print whats colder you can get a line across the print.

 

Personally a ultra sonic cleaner is a handy machine to have with resin printers, i personally use water washable resin what means its totally safe to use. If using IPA then make sure its not a heated cleaner and also its better to put the IPA in a plastic tub with water in the ultra sonic cleaner as its just safer. All look to invest in a wash and cure machine.

[Oliveros 11]

Thank you for that info.

 

Glad to hear I'm not the only one, we're doing the same thing pretty much it seems, works great.

 

I was looking at Ultrasonic cleaner yesterday, what kind do you have?

 

Some say alcohol will erupt into a supernova if put in a ultrasonic cleaner, some say it doesen't matter so I'll see what happens, I'm getting a Elegoo Mercury curing box and whatever Ultra S cleaner I decide on, I'm open for suggestions.

[Carla_Birch 116]

Mines a GT Sonic 9L (You can not fill it with 9L, most ultra sonic cleaners don't hold what they say so not sure how they work it out), but a lot of them are basically the same machine but with a diff name put on them. The fact IPA can go up in flames and your placing it in a machine that for most is metal and as all electrics under it to me is a risk of a short/spark setting the IPA off and i think thats why some place it in a plastic tub or in a bag and place it in the cleaner with water in.

 

Like i say i personally use water washable resins as its just saver and even know the resin costs a little more you remove the cost of getting IPA so kinda levels itself out but removes a risk of fire.

 

I personally after a printers done, spin the build plate around so its upright and let resin dip off into the vat for a bit. Then its into the ultra sonic cleaner to get all the thick off . Then i got a anycubic wash and cure, so i give it a final wash in clean water in that. then let it air dry because cure.

[Oliveros 11]

Interesting, I prefer the water washable, I've used some and it all works the same in terms of part finish from what I can tell, so I'll probably end up mainly using water washable when I can.

 

I was thinking of this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Q2M17K/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3OI2CVBA9DB25

 

[Carla_Birch 116]

It goes by what you plan on printing really with the resin printer to what you need, eg if you only going print small mini's and rings and that then that would be fine, but if its more stuff that takes up most the build size you will need something bigger to be able to fully fit the parts in.

 

This is a little something im working on right now, still got to clean up the joins.

 

 

 

[Oliveros 11]

Wow, that's pretty cool!

[Oliveros 11]

Well.

 

I now know why you should filter the resin between almost every print.

 

If a piece of support or something gets missed in the resin and the build plate comes down, it cracks the screen.

 

Who would've thought.

[geert_2 558]

Just out of curiosity: when handling resins, do you do that in daylight, or in a dim-lit room, or an almost dark room? To prevent them from self-curing? How sensitive are these resins, let's say if you leave them out in daylight or in the sun? How much time do you have before they self-cure?

 

I am asking this because I have worked with dental light-cured resin pastes: the white filling materials for teeth. And you should definitely not use them for longer than half a minute in bright light.

[Carla_Birch 116]

They are not that sensitive for sure. The resin is 405nm photosensitive resin and and when printing you taking 40 watt led uv lights taking around 12 sec to cure the resin.

 

So you can more than easy handle the resin in a bright room. But you only really need to expose the resin when you fill or empty the vat. Most printed have UV protection panels on the prints.

 

But as always better not to place the printer somewhere where you get direct sunlight.

I personally used my FDM printer and printed a lid so the vat so when not in use its covered, but you can easy keep most resins in the printer for weeks on end no problems.

[Oliveros 11]

I've had no problems with it curing except for when I mixed food color with starch and other things into water based resin, it started curing in the mixing cup.

 

But as for a room, I've had no problems at all and leave it in the vat with no problems.

 

Resin printing is really not that bad once you get the drill of it down, then it's a lot nicer than FDM as the result is more rewarding.

[FCB_Michael70 0]

Hi everybody,

i have since today a 4k Mono Resin printer from ELEGOO. How can i configure this Printer in the Cura Software to have then all correct settings.

Is there anyone who can help me ?

 

Greetings Michael