Resin Printing

The resin printer requires an in-person course.

⚠️ RESIN PRINTER SAFETY & MAINTENANCE ⚠️

• Resin is mildly toxic and an allergen.
• Use glasses, nitril gloves and only touch things inside the cabinet as soon as you have started working.
• Wash your hands after you have removed the gloves with soap and water, (never use IPA or acetone to wash your skin since it does remove most of the resin, but it helps the rest of it penetrating deeper).
• Lift bottles and equipment with both hands.

The cabinet must be kept clean for everyone's safety. Please follow these guidelines strictly.

🛠 THE TOOLS: DO NOT CURE THEM

Everything that STAYS in the cabinet (tools) DOES NOT NEED CURING.

• Tools must be THOROUGHLY RINSED and WIPED until there is NO RESIN LEFT on them before they are placed back in the toolbox. So, it's important that you NEVER CURE THE TOOL.

If you cure them, they are ruined.

RINSE and WIPE: After using any tools (filter, funnel, tweezers, Allen keys, scraper, tank cleaning tool, etc.), rinse them in the cleaning solution until resin-free.

Wipe tools with paper until DRY and return them to the toolbox. The toolbox should remain clean and dry at all times.

🗑 WASTE DISPOSAL

Everything that COMES OUT of the cabinet needs to be CURED and DISPOSED OF.

This includes paper towels, gloves, and rinsing water.

Do not leave anything behind. Ensure you have cured absolutely everything that contacted the resin.

Rinsing Water: Once you finish rinsing your print and curing the water, the container must be emptied in the wet room's sink.

PROTECT THE EQUIPMENT

Use the SPLASH GUARD every single time you move resin in or out of the printer! This is the only way to prevent resin from leaking into the machine's internal electronics.

PREVENT DISPLAY DAMAGE: * Before starting, check that no failed prints are stuck in the tank.

Perform a Tank Cleaning cycle after every print.

TANK MAINTENANCE

NEVER use IPA on the tank’s film (FEP): It will get cloudy and require constant replacement.

Emptying the tank: Use the filter and funnel to transfer resin back to the bottle. (Rinse and dry the filter/funnel immediately after).

Cleaning the film: Wipe it VERY gently with clean paper to remove bulk resin. Wash it gently with your fingers and detergent in the wet room.

Cleanliness: Be careful not to leave resin residue on taps or door handles.

Dryness: Ensure the tank is 100% dry before pouring resin back in.

🧼 CLEANLINESS & REPORTING Wipe any surfaces that have resin drops or residue with IPA and cure the used paper.

If something breaks, report it ASAP. We can only fix what we know about.

Contact Alex Lopez via Slack if you break something or if you have any doubts about the process.

These precautions ensure the safety of our members and the longevity of our equipment. Thank you for your attention and for being a responsible member of the makerspace!

Slicing your files

Slicers and slicer settings.

Prusa slicer. Always tilt your model 45 degrees to avoid suction and improve quality

Support:

If your prints fail, perform a calibration.

Model management

• Slicer works "upside down"
• Avoid horizontal faces at all costs,
• Avoid horizontal edges if possible
• Hollowing: Reduces resin-use, makes curing quicker and reduces the number of supports needed.
• Add a drain-hole near the bottom of the model to avoid getting resin trapped inside.
• Under exposure: Print fails or loss of small details
• Over exposure: print gets to thick, loss of small details
• Common errors: To few supports, miscalibration, resin mixed with IPA.

Preparing the machine

• Always wear gloves.
• Insert USB-stick before handling any resin
• The machine has one main power switch in the back and an on button on the front.
• Put the splash guard.
• Run the scraper gently along the bottom and check for resistance.
  • If there is resistances, perform a "tank cleaning".
• Give the resin a stir for one minute.
• Remove splash guard.
• Start your file and wait for the machine to tell you what level resin is required and add the resin.
• If you added too much, place the splash guard again, remove some resin with the syringe and empty the excess back in the bottle. Rinse the syringe a couple of times in the rinsing solution, dry it thoroughly with paper, once clean and completely dry and without any drips, place it back in the tool box. Do not cure the syringe. Cure the paper you used and dispose of it (you can do this in one of the curing stations or in the curing box in the drawer along the rest of the paper you use).
• Remove splash guard once more and let the machine start.

Finishing the printed object

• Take your USB-stick before handling any resin.
• Insert the splash guard.
• Let the resin drip from your model for a while back into the vat, if there is still resin inside the model pour it back in the vat.
• Run the tank cleaning program.
• Put the model and the cleaning film in the washing vat and run the cycle 2 times.
  • The rinsing solution can be reused many times. Just make sure you can
  • Unless it starts to feel goopy it is probably fine, as a rule of thumb, don't replace it.
• Let the model sit for a few minutes on a paper-towel before moving it into the UV-chamber
• Let it sit in the UV-box for about 20 minutes

Cleaning the printer

• Wipe the printer and the work-surfaces with IPA and paper, cure the paper and discard.
• Perform a bottom cleaning program after you finish your print.

The things i filmed

Here is an album with the various things I filmed.. It needs to be cut and made into proper instructional videos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/xnDX69vvJ3vtqjoa7