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Hello, looking for some feedback on resin printers, I'm thinking of buying an anycubic resin printer for printing detailed hull parts, sails, rudders, etc. Although I have not experienced it I have read many places that PLA prints don't hold up well in high temperatures, like in a car for transport or sitting in the sun? Can someone who has resin printed confirm that this won't be an issue with resin prints? I'd hate to go through this process and pull the resin printed hull out of the truck to find out it has changed shape. Thanks Khim
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The resin prints are cured to a thermoset condition by UV, unlike the thermoplastics used for filament printers which use heat to extrude through a nozzle. So you shouldn’t worry about heat, but do pay attention to the fact that resins can be brittle, some more so than others. Some are very tough, but each resin system has trade offs, like most things in life. -
I only print in resin now, having started on commercial-grade FDM machines. I printed a hull out of PLA years ago and it deformed in a few minutes in the sun. FDM is great for fixtures and other things that aren't exposed to direct sun.
That being said, I started with the generic grey which looks pretty good but is very brittle. From there, I started using ABS-like resin which is heat-tolerant and has a bit of flex to it. It only becomes brittle if you're scribing and catch an edge or move the tip through too tight a bend radius. If you drop a part on the floor, it can go either way, but is easy to repair if it gets cracked or you need to join a broken piece and restore it to like-new condition, using liquid resin and a UV source. I use a Phrozen Cure Beam, and it's very useful. The leads are around 18" and I've always kept the extra UV head as a spare. The output is enough to illuminate a 3mm thick hull from the inside. When joining hulls, I always cure the resin bond joint from both sides to insure it cures within tiny gaps. A few seconds lingering over the joint and it's cured.
Phrozen Cure Beam | Post Curing UV Pen | Phrozen Technology: Resin 3D Printer Manufacturer (phrozen3d.com)
There are other resins that when cured can take a hammer strike. These engineering resins run around $70 a bottle. ABS-like, $30. When I need some durable propellers, planes surfaces, or masts and antennas, I think a bottle of the good stuff is worth it.
As for printers, there are a lot to choose from. 8k printers are now being surpassed by 12k printers with higher resolution. I'm planning to buy a couple of 8ks to print larger parts as their prices continue to drop - that's a good point to think about before you buy any printer: How big are the parts you intend to print? I've used a 4k for a few years and created some large projects. It's been reliable, easy to clean and a pleasure to use. The large printers can take two bottles of resin to fill the vat. I'll keep the 4K for the smaller stuff.
Cleaning resin prints is what sanding is to PLA prints, a necessary PITA. A dedicated work space with flooring that can be easily cleaned (epoxy-painted cement garage floor comes to mind) is a must. While the fumes from printing in a garage are minimal, the IPA-soaked paper towels I throw out stink the place up a bit before evaporation kicks in. You have to wear protective eyewear and gloves; resin irritates skin and mucous membranes. It cleans off easily enough, but when sanding, a respirator is recommended along with eye protection.
You need a hot water source to ​clean the resin and remove the prints from the plate; a flexible magnetic build base for the build plate helps. Once I get a thin-bladed, flexible putty knife under a raft edge, the parts easily lift off a warm plate. You can cure them on their supports, or remove the supports while their warm from the hot water. Before you cure, the part must be dry; an air source is a plus.
There are combo wash and cure stations, but I think you can save a lot of money on IPA by using a spray bottle and a foam brush for most parts. All you need to remove is the resin that clings to the part after it's been lifted out of the vat during the build. Some people fill containers with IPA and let their parts stew for a few minutes, but I found that pollutes a larger amount of IPA faster, plus you need to recover as much as you can (another added step) to lower your IPA costs.
I started out cleaning that way and shifting to a spray bottle dropped my IPA usage about 90% with no loss of cleanliness. Oh yeah, there's also time saved by not having to deal with trying to recycle contaminated IPA with filtration, exposure to a bottle in sunlight, to create sludge, etc. For most prints, two tablespoons is about the average that I end up soaking up in paper towels from my plastic IPA cleaning container and tossing out. Contaminated water is hit with the cure beam and hardened resin is scrapped out of a seperate plastic container.
After each evolution, any resin in your work area should be cleaned with IPA as well. Cleaning gets easier and faster as you gain experience.
Not quite Krell Industries, but a step closer.
The steepest part of the learning curve for many is getting the most out of slicer settings and orienting the part on the build plate. There's a lot of debate on the best way, but after much research, trial and error, I learned there is no one way that works best for all parts. For that, I recommend keeping a print log to help learn faster from your mistakes and determine when you're printer is acting up. Mine takes a minute to fill out and lives next to the printer.
Whatever printer you buy, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how easy they are to operate. I calibrate my build plate only if I change the vat FEP which might be once a year. Other than that, clean the build plate, fill the vat to the level line, and press GO!
Hope this helps,
CC​Comment
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CC great information thx, KhimComment
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The Elegoo Saturn series are a great choice. They have 8K quality and are fairly inexpensive.Comment
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Even the 4K models will produce some very tiny details. Notice the glasses and cigar in this minis mouth.This was printed with ABSlike resin on a 4k Elegoo Saturn. The cigar even has ashes on the end although not sure can make it out.
Cigar < 1mmLast edited by Wizzard033; 09-13-2023, 12:22 PM.Comment
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A 4K printer is great for small parts like control surfaces, masts and antennas, but is limited in the largest parts it can print.
8k printers are available that can print complete single hull sections, reducing the issues associated with printing half-hulls and obtaining acceptable alignment with minimal warping prior to bonding. 12k is the new standard, but the increase in detail over a 28 micron printer is difficult to quantify visually. I'm currently looking at a Phrozen Mega 8k to build the largest hull sections possible for my needs and will keep the 4k for smaller parts.
ABS-like resin is less brittle and has higher heat tolerance than standard resin. I did some experiments with hull sections in the AZ sun this summer with impressive results.Comment
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4k and 8K are only resolution of details. It doesn't have anything to do with the size of the print. My 4k Saturn will make prints the same size as the 8k and the 12k Saturn. The only difference is the detail. And like I showed the 1mm cigar has ashes. I can print 1 complete hull sections as well this escape shuttle is almost 7" wide and I can print roughly 7.5"h x 4.5"d x 7.75"h. That might leave you hanging on some of the larger models for sure.
I plan to print in ABS after I finish Das Boot in PLAComment
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Alien escape shuttle Narcissus in ABS like resin and Das Boot in PLAAttached FilesComment
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I'm well aware of the meaning of 3D LED array printer resolution. In the Phrozen 3D printer line, (they continue to deliver the largest non-commercial printers volume-wise) as their build volumes increase, so do their arrays and features.
My Sonic Mighty 4K has a 200 x 125 x 220 mm build volume. I've built large hulls with it, but it requires bonding too many hull section halves.
The Sonic Mega 8k has a print volume of 330 x 185 x 400 - significantly larger then the 4k or any printer Saturn offers. It is upgradeable to 12k.
My preferred build scale is 1/72. Building large, one-piece hull sections cuts my build time significantly and improves the quality of the product. The 4k is fine for batch printing smaller parts items while the larger format printer cranks out the big stuff in parallel.​Comment
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