Quick question with resin handling, I know from forge world model building that inhaling resin dust is bad, and I hear resin fumes from 3D printing is also bad.
Is it like, need to run the machine in a garage bad or can I like, pump things out the window like one would with an airbrushing booth?
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IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
Third print, I dropped the supports back to small.
Only three models of seven survived, and even one of those had some major failures.
Advice from r/elegoomars says I should flash my printer to the Mars 2 Pro firmware to get the most out of this screen. Also I should not be "calibrating" my printer with actual prints, yeah?
Are you using Chitubox to generate the supports? FWIW, when I have Chitubox generate light supports, which is most of the supports I use, I also manually add a few medium supports to certain high-load bearing locations.
On 'Mechs, this tends to be the parts of the feet, torso underside, and arms closest to the build plate. I imagine for spaceships you'll want like two to four "load bearing" supports to make sure the rest of the build structure generates in place properly.
Also, if you're using Chitubox to generate the sliced file, you'll want to double check your settings there as well.
As for calibrations....I mean, yeah, you can calibrate a printer with any known good file you have. Yes, there's calibration prints you can do if you really want to fine tune it, but I find that most of the time sunk into that is Perfect being the Enemy of Good.
Ask me again how I feel after I replace my FEP though. :P
I'm using LycheeSlicer this time. Maybe I should try Chitubox again just to science it out?
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Quick question with resin handling, I know from forge world model building that inhaling resin dust is bad, and I hear resin fumes from 3D printing is also bad.
Is it like, need to run the machine in a garage bad or can I like, pump things out the window like one would with an airbrushing booth?
You need to either be working in a large well ventilated space people don't inhabit (like a garage), or have a very good dedicated evacuation system with 100% seal. This stuff is not good for you. Even fully cured, you should spray on a clear coat or fully paint if doing extensive handling.
Gloves, respirator, safety glasses. If you get any on your skin, stop and wash it off right away.
I'm not trying to fear monger, it's super easy to do all the handling and curing safely. There are countless stories of people getting resin near their eye and going temporarily blind. Or breaking out in a chemical rash on their hands. I used to not prioritize my mask, and my wife noticed a change in my behavior on nights of resin huffing.
I used to work with gel coats, polyester resins, fiberglass fabrication. While this resin isn't as toxic as those things, it's not not toxic. Please print safely.
Quick question with resin handling, I know from forge world model building that inhaling resin dust is bad, and I hear resin fumes from 3D printing is also bad.
Is it like, need to run the machine in a garage bad or can I like, pump things out the window like one would with an airbrushing booth?
You need to either be working in a large well ventilated space people don't inhabit (like a garage), or have a very good dedicated evacuation system with 100% seal. This stuff is not good for you. Even fully cured, you should spray on a clear coat or fully paint if doing extensive handling.
Gloves, respirator, safety glasses. If you get any on your skin, stop and wash it off right away.
I'm not trying to fear monger, it's super easy to do all the handling and curing safely. There are countless stories of people getting resin near their eye and going temporarily blind. Or breaking out in a chemical rash on their hands. I used to not prioritize my mask, and my wife noticed a change in my behavior on nights of resin huffing.
I used to work with gel coats, polyester resins, fiberglass fabrication. While this resin isn't as toxic as those things, it's not not toxic. Please print safely.
I definitely will do it safely, or, it I cannot do it safely I’ll have to abandon the idea. Unfortunately my current living situation does not have a garage, but I do have an office. So, looks like I will really need to look into a proper evacuation system if I am going to be able to pull this off.
It's something you can DIY, there are also plenty of soft and hard enclosures on Amazon. Just important to pipe it out a window (and have a plan to cover the upper part of the window if you have to leave it open).
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited August 2022
Normal resins are nasty, but counterpoint: Anycubic Eco Resin is remarkably friendly. A short story:
Before I bought my printer I had just had a newborn, and so for a long time (two years) I waffled on what I might invest in and how to do the resin end of everything safely. My hobby workspace is in a basement interior room, and while an adjacent bathroom has a vent fan I knew that wouldn't be enough to really quell any substantial fumes*. I really, really didn't want to be using anything remotely toxic in the house with a podling toddling around.
As my girl got into her Twos, I stumbled across a good deal on my Anycubic Photon (a great starter printer, IMO, and has treated me well) and more importantly their Eco Resin. The Eco Resin is manufactured from soybean oil, and specifically designed to be as safe and friendly as possible to living things (again, podling) and the environment. At the time, I didn't see another option on the market, and so I dove in head-first on Eco resin from the jump. I've never used another type of resin, and for the foreseeable future don't see that changing.
I've run upwards of a hundred prints using the Eco resin, and here's some things I've learned.
-They say it's low-odor, and while true, that doesn't mean odorless. It's got a slight odor that's not unpleasant, but it's there. I don't use a mask when handling it, that's how minimal the fumes are. That said....
-I made the mistake once of leaving my printer vat unattended for a while (week+), and then dove straight into the machine to start a print. After I opened the printer door the collected fumes inside the machine gave my sinuses a kicking which took a few days to recover from, and so now after long breaks between prints I open the machine, thoroughly hand-fan any latent fumes away at arms length, and then go into the machine to do the work.
-It is actually pretty mild on your skin. I wouldn't recommend bathing in the stuff, and if you're handling it a lot I think gloves are still warranted. Otherwise, just wash any residue you pick up with soap and water and you'll be fine.
-I've now tried three different post-prep cleaning agents: IPA, Simple Green (with and without an ultrasonic cleaner), and LA's Totally Awesome. All of them work fine, but I've landed on LA's more recently because it's much nicer smelling than IPA, and works a bit harder than Simple Green. A 20 second swish-bath in a sealed glass jar gets 95% of the excess resin off the print, and then a couple minutes with an old toothbrush and soap and water gets the remaining resin out of tiny recesses and cleans off the LA's.
-The Eco resin cures just like normal resins, as best as I can tell. I use a DIY UV lightbox and turntable, and usually will run any given print in it for 20-30 minutes. Not yet had a problem with a print insofar as curing is concerned.
-The cured Eco resin takes finishes (primer, paint, etc.) completely fine.
Here's some (painted) examples of what a basic Photon and Eco resin can manage. I would 100% recommend the Anycubic Eco resin to anyone that's on the fence, or looking for a low-toxicity alternative. And as a bonus, they're now not the only ones on the market with a product like this, so there's some options to explore.
*Amusingly enough, I own a Glowforge laser machine, and installed a fan vent system specifically to vent laser cutting fumes while using it. In that same workspace, roughly a foot and a half to the left of where my Photon sits now. Had I wanted to, I probably could have rigged up an extension to the vent system and a fume hood for the printer, but eventually decided the Eco resin route was infinitely easier.
I've never messed with the plant resins, so it's awesome to have that insight! The only downside I've heard about plant resin is it tends to be more fragile. If you're only doing minis, probably not a problem.
So, chatting with some other folks, I remembered that 3D printing exists and now I have the space and the budget to actually get into it, and holy crap things have come a long way since I last looked at it.
Because I am a huge nerd, my interest is naturally towards building miniatures to assemble and paint. Long term goal is to design and print my own, though I do fully realize that’s going to be a long road and a lot of skills for me to acquire.
It seems like resin printers are the way to go for miniatures. So, basically, assume that I am completely ignorant (because I am) what are some good resources for getting into this? Books, websites, YouTube channels, anything along those lines would be super rad.
Welcome to the hobby space @Inquisitor , I personally can't wait to see what you print up!
A few things about resin printers: Not just space, they need proper ventilation as the fumes are toxic. Theres a lot of hub bub about whether the resin itself is super toxic or just normal toxic. Always wear gloves when handling it and maybe a respirator if you have one (this is debated).
As for printers themselves, if you want to do minis, I had the first line of Anycubic Photon series a few years back, and last year upgraded to one of the 4k models and its great. But you can get 8ks now if you really want, and I've heard great things about the Phrozen Sonic Mini line.
As for resin. Well everyone has a preference. Sadly prices have gone up in the last few months. Many people like the Anycubic and Elegoo Eco resins, as they are supposedly lower odor. I liked them ok, but my personal recommendation is https://3drs.com/ they are a US based company that makes their own resin, and their Hero resin is a great sweet spot for durability, won't shatter super easy but also prints well. I really like their products.
Oh, and personal preference, I recommend getting a Wash and Cure station. Doesn't matter the brand, but going from a pickle tub for print cleaning with a foil lined box for curing to a machine that does it all? Works great for me.
I just have mine in a room with the window open and fan. I've gotten a little resin on my hands too.
I'll report back if I drop dead. I find it odd CA doesn't have warning labels all over the stuff. But then no info on long term effects either I suppose.
Xeddicus on
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Third print, I dropped the supports back to small.
Only three models of seven survived, and even one of those had some major failures.
Advice from r/elegoomars says I should flash my printer to the Mars 2 Pro firmware to get the most out of this screen. Also I should not be "calibrating" my printer with actual prints, yeah?
Are you using Chitubox to generate the supports? FWIW, when I have Chitubox generate light supports, which is most of the supports I use, I also manually add a few medium supports to certain high-load bearing locations.
On 'Mechs, this tends to be the parts of the feet, torso underside, and arms closest to the build plate. I imagine for spaceships you'll want like two to four "load bearing" supports to make sure the rest of the build structure generates in place properly.
Also, if you're using Chitubox to generate the sliced file, you'll want to double check your settings there as well.
As for calibrations....I mean, yeah, you can calibrate a printer with any known good file you have. Yes, there's calibration prints you can do if you really want to fine tune it, but I find that most of the time sunk into that is Perfect being the Enemy of Good.
Ask me again how I feel after I replace my FEP though. :P
I'm using LycheeSlicer this time. Maybe I should try Chitubox again just to science it out?
(Coming back around the 'thread... @Ianator)
Honestly, if Lychee was good previously, I wouldn't change slicers. I would look to see if Lychee allows you to place manual supports, and do like I described.
If not? Well, Chitubox is free, so you're just out time and effort setting up another program.
I just have mine in a room with the window open and fan. I've gotten a little resin on my hands too.
I'll report back if I drop dead. I find it odd CA doesn't have warning labels all over the stuff. But then no info on long term effects either I suppose.
Because there are very few studies done, and fewer still able to scope long term effects.
It's one of those things where, the risk just isn't worth it. Even the eco stuff has chemicals in it I don't want in my body for any reason (did a little googling today, might want to read that MSDS a little closer).
Cobalt is naturally occurring, and that shit will turn your lungs to shredded paper without you even knowing it.
More on point, a face full of just concentrated IPA fumes isn't good for your lungs and eyes.
Third print, I dropped the supports back to small.
Only three models of seven survived, and even one of those had some major failures.
Advice from r/elegoomars says I should flash my printer to the Mars 2 Pro firmware to get the most out of this screen. Also I should not be "calibrating" my printer with actual prints, yeah?
Are you using Chitubox to generate the supports? FWIW, when I have Chitubox generate light supports, which is most of the supports I use, I also manually add a few medium supports to certain high-load bearing locations.
On 'Mechs, this tends to be the parts of the feet, torso underside, and arms closest to the build plate. I imagine for spaceships you'll want like two to four "load bearing" supports to make sure the rest of the build structure generates in place properly.
Also, if you're using Chitubox to generate the sliced file, you'll want to double check your settings there as well.
As for calibrations....I mean, yeah, you can calibrate a printer with any known good file you have. Yes, there's calibration prints you can do if you really want to fine tune it, but I find that most of the time sunk into that is Perfect being the Enemy of Good.
Ask me again how I feel after I replace my FEP though. :P
I'm using LycheeSlicer this time. Maybe I should try Chitubox again just to science it out?
(Coming back around the 'thread... @Ianator)
Honestly, if Lychee was good previously, I wouldn't change slicers. I would look to see if Lychee allows you to place manual supports, and do like I described.
If not? Well, Chitubox is free, so you're just out time and effort setting up another program.
Lychee is the best, you can do manual supports in the prep phase, just click the type you want and click on the model, it'll even draw the support as you mouse around.
I like using the auto to see where it thinks I need supports first, and then clearing it and doing it by hand.
Oh man and anycubic and elegoo are both having sales?
I am waffling between the mars 3 (pro?) and the anycubic photon m3. But hard to tell if there is much in the way of meaningful differences at my level of understanding though.
Screen stuck to the bottom of the print bed instead of the printer. That peeling sound was not resin, it was the screen's cable.
There's $40 I'm never seeing again...
EDIT: Hang on it's just peeled off, not actually torn. There's still a chance.
EDIT EDIT: Oh lol that's why my prints were crappy, I forgot to take off a second layer of protective film.
Get yourself a cheap pack of A4 projector paper. Clear polyethylene stuff, sometimes called transparency film. Cut a piece to cover the entire vat bed.
Boom, screen safe for like $12. It'll save you against blob burn (when that print fails, sits on the FEP, and then runs for hours creating a hot spot), FEP failure, vat leak, butter fingers, and probably more.
Because it's removable, easily cleaned, and quickly replaced, I've become a huge fan. I tried a "professional" protector, and it sucked to use by comparison.
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IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
No failure of the FEP or resin leaking onto the screen, this was just the screen protector being taped to the printer body instead of the actual screen.
There's a chance I can get this ribbon where it needs to go. Might actually ask a buddy who's better at hobby electrical stuff.
But boy am I mad at myself right now. Waited a month for this screen and ruined it in a week.
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3D printer ordered, going to be a bit before I get all the other accessories to get it fully up and running but, the journey begins!
While I know I am going to have a long road ahead of me just getting it to do existing prints, I am starting to look ahead into making my own models.
There are a lot of different 3D softwares out there! It seems like people like some engines more for different things. I primarily want to make model miniatures so a mix of organic elements, cloth, but also industrial elements. I want to make fantasy DnD minis but also stompy Battletech robots.
The internet seems to suggest blender for robots and stuff like SculptGL for fantasy heroes. Definitely going to focus on only one software to begin with but, what do folks here like for these sorts of applications?
I use blender for all wargame models and sculpting, rhino+grasshopper for everything else.
Blender has a huge curve and isn't super user friendly, but it is wildly powerful and feature rich.
Don't forget, Windows built in 3d viewer is awesome too. It's repair function can get a bugged STL printing on it's own usually, sometimes fixing things Lychee misses. It's slice fiction is usually where I start when kit bashing.
Anon the Felon on
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
edited August 2022
The other nice thing about Blender is that it's so widely used that if you ever get stuck working out how to do something there are literally 37 billion good tutorials on every aspect of it on Youtube.
minor incident on
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Also if you have issues setting up, or with anything else, don't hesitate to reach out
I ended up going with the Anycubic M3, in part because I could not figure out if I was ordering an actual printer or just pre-ordering a printer for a future shipment from Elegoo.
Also grabbed a wash and cure station and an air purifier because why not.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
I'm a crazy person so embarked on my 3D modeling journey with FreeCAD, mostly because of fond memories working in CAD in college circa the early Aughts. This has been a mixed bag (due to quirks in FC), but I make solid learning progress just by Doing Things with the occasional tutorial search.
I recently dipped into Blender to try some simple stuff, and despite it being obtuse on its face I think I cracked the nut with understanding some simple concepts in its workflow, UI, and toolset that makes me very excited for kitbashing digital models.
I literally love my Elegoo machines. I'm tempted to pick up a new one and leave it box. My first has a lot of hours on it now, it's on like the third screen.
Don't forget to lube your all thread! I degreased my second machine and put on a PTFE lube to reduce maintenance.
I've had most success at designing things using OpenSCAD, but that's because everything I've designed myself has been a functional print entirely made of straight lines and cylinders, I can not imagine a more painful tool to use if you wanted to make organic things.
I've had most success at designing things using OpenSCAD, but that's because everything I've designed myself has been a functional print entirely made of straight lines and cylinders, I can not imagine a more painful tool to use if you wanted to make organic things.
Goddamn, I thought starting with FreeCAD was hard mode. OpenSCAD looks like Ultra Nightmare Mode with One Hit Kills. Hooooooly shit.
Really my biggest complaint about FreeCAD (which is Powerful, and Free, which are both Good) is that it's married to some code that restricts it to single-CPU-core operation. It really bogs down on complicated projects, which some of my designs have juuuuuuust started to edge up on. It also has a weird internal object-face-labeling convention that it follows, which can cause entire designs to break if you're not careful, but I run into that pretty infrequently with a smidgen of thoughtful planning.
Screen stuck to the bottom of the print bed instead of the printer. That peeling sound was not resin, it was the screen's cable.
There's $40 I'm never seeing again...
EDIT: Hang on it's just peeled off, not actually torn. There's still a chance.
EDIT EDIT: Oh lol that's why my prints were crappy, I forgot to take off a second layer of protective film.
Get yourself a cheap pack of A4 projector paper. Clear polyethylene stuff, sometimes called transparency film. Cut a piece to cover the entire vat bed.
Boom, screen safe for like $12. It'll save you against blob burn (when that print fails, sits on the FEP, and then runs for hours creating a hot spot), FEP failure, vat leak, butter fingers, and probably more.
Because it's removable, easily cleaned, and quickly replaced, I've become a huge fan. I tried a "professional" protector, and it sucked to use by comparison.
Bingo! I checked against the pack I bought forever ago (10 sheets should last you a lifetime, I only use a half a sheet per printer and it only needs to be replaced when it does it's job, hopefully rarely). By all appearances and info it's the same product.
Some of there types of sheets can be UV resistant, which you obviously don't want, these aren't. Just something to watch for.
I've had most success at designing things using OpenSCAD, but that's because everything I've designed myself has been a functional print entirely made of straight lines and cylinders, I can not imagine a more painful tool to use if you wanted to make organic things.
Goddamn, I thought starting with FreeCAD was hard mode. OpenSCAD looks like Ultra Nightmare Mode with One Hit Kills. Hooooooly shit.
I write code for a living, so that approach to things makes sense to me, wheres every time I've tried using a visual CAD package I get totally lost. I remember trying one of the freecad tutorials and something didn't work the way the tutorial said it would (relating to constraints, if I remember) and I was completely unable to get unstuck and had to just start from the beginning again. It feels like if I knew enough to know what I was doing wrong it would be easier to not do things wrong, but I am both ignorant _and_ bad at it which is an awkward combination.
Also, my ambitions are very basic -- everything's just combinations of cubes and cylinders (and occasionally a hexagon if I want to put a nut in somewhere for a bolt to fix to). This is a holder for digital camera batteries, for example:
which is a bit of fiddling around to get the rounded corners to work properly, but I feel like there'd be the same amount of fiddling if I was using a CAD package, just in a visual way rather than manually adding offsets in code.
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Is it like, need to run the machine in a garage bad or can I like, pump things out the window like one would with an airbrushing booth?
I'm using LycheeSlicer this time. Maybe I should try Chitubox again just to science it out?
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You need to either be working in a large well ventilated space people don't inhabit (like a garage), or have a very good dedicated evacuation system with 100% seal. This stuff is not good for you. Even fully cured, you should spray on a clear coat or fully paint if doing extensive handling.
Gloves, respirator, safety glasses. If you get any on your skin, stop and wash it off right away.
I'm not trying to fear monger, it's super easy to do all the handling and curing safely. There are countless stories of people getting resin near their eye and going temporarily blind. Or breaking out in a chemical rash on their hands. I used to not prioritize my mask, and my wife noticed a change in my behavior on nights of resin huffing.
I used to work with gel coats, polyester resins, fiberglass fabrication. While this resin isn't as toxic as those things, it's not not toxic. Please print safely.
I definitely will do it safely, or, it I cannot do it safely I’ll have to abandon the idea. Unfortunately my current living situation does not have a garage, but I do have an office. So, looks like I will really need to look into a proper evacuation system if I am going to be able to pull this off.
Before I bought my printer I had just had a newborn, and so for a long time (two years) I waffled on what I might invest in and how to do the resin end of everything safely. My hobby workspace is in a basement interior room, and while an adjacent bathroom has a vent fan I knew that wouldn't be enough to really quell any substantial fumes*. I really, really didn't want to be using anything remotely toxic in the house with a podling toddling around.
As my girl got into her Twos, I stumbled across a good deal on my Anycubic Photon (a great starter printer, IMO, and has treated me well) and more importantly their Eco Resin. The Eco Resin is manufactured from soybean oil, and specifically designed to be as safe and friendly as possible to living things (again, podling) and the environment. At the time, I didn't see another option on the market, and so I dove in head-first on Eco resin from the jump. I've never used another type of resin, and for the foreseeable future don't see that changing.
I've run upwards of a hundred prints using the Eco resin, and here's some things I've learned.
-They say it's low-odor, and while true, that doesn't mean odorless. It's got a slight odor that's not unpleasant, but it's there. I don't use a mask when handling it, that's how minimal the fumes are. That said....
-I made the mistake once of leaving my printer vat unattended for a while (week+), and then dove straight into the machine to start a print. After I opened the printer door the collected fumes inside the machine gave my sinuses a kicking which took a few days to recover from, and so now after long breaks between prints I open the machine, thoroughly hand-fan any latent fumes away at arms length, and then go into the machine to do the work.
-It is actually pretty mild on your skin. I wouldn't recommend bathing in the stuff, and if you're handling it a lot I think gloves are still warranted. Otherwise, just wash any residue you pick up with soap and water and you'll be fine.
-I've now tried three different post-prep cleaning agents: IPA, Simple Green (with and without an ultrasonic cleaner), and LA's Totally Awesome. All of them work fine, but I've landed on LA's more recently because it's much nicer smelling than IPA, and works a bit harder than Simple Green. A 20 second swish-bath in a sealed glass jar gets 95% of the excess resin off the print, and then a couple minutes with an old toothbrush and soap and water gets the remaining resin out of tiny recesses and cleans off the LA's.
-The Eco resin cures just like normal resins, as best as I can tell. I use a DIY UV lightbox and turntable, and usually will run any given print in it for 20-30 minutes. Not yet had a problem with a print insofar as curing is concerned.
-The cured Eco resin takes finishes (primer, paint, etc.) completely fine.
Here's some (painted) examples of what a basic Photon and Eco resin can manage. I would 100% recommend the Anycubic Eco resin to anyone that's on the fence, or looking for a low-toxicity alternative. And as a bonus, they're now not the only ones on the market with a product like this, so there's some options to explore.
*Amusingly enough, I own a Glowforge laser machine, and installed a fan vent system specifically to vent laser cutting fumes while using it. In that same workspace, roughly a foot and a half to the left of where my Photon sits now. Had I wanted to, I probably could have rigged up an extension to the vent system and a fume hood for the printer, but eventually decided the Eco resin route was infinitely easier.
Seeing pretty positive stuff online about using soft weed grow boxes as a way to vent, so that plus a low fume resin makes this all seem quite doable.
Looking into the anycubic photon as well and that seems great. Really amazed at how affordable this all seems compared to last I looked into things.
Welcome to the hobby space @Inquisitor , I personally can't wait to see what you print up!
A few things about resin printers: Not just space, they need proper ventilation as the fumes are toxic. Theres a lot of hub bub about whether the resin itself is super toxic or just normal toxic. Always wear gloves when handling it and maybe a respirator if you have one (this is debated).
As for printers themselves, if you want to do minis, I had the first line of Anycubic Photon series a few years back, and last year upgraded to one of the 4k models and its great. But you can get 8ks now if you really want, and I've heard great things about the Phrozen Sonic Mini line.
I go to these YouTube channels a lot and they have a bunch of great videos on getting started:
https://www.youtube.com/c/UncleJessy
https://www.youtube.com/c/3DPrintFarm
https://www.youtube.com/c/VegOilGuy
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbv2mDrRqXovPdahRyoCFhA
As for resin. Well everyone has a preference. Sadly prices have gone up in the last few months. Many people like the Anycubic and Elegoo Eco resins, as they are supposedly lower odor. I liked them ok, but my personal recommendation is https://3drs.com/ they are a US based company that makes their own resin, and their Hero resin is a great sweet spot for durability, won't shatter super easy but also prints well. I really like their products.
Oh, and personal preference, I recommend getting a Wash and Cure station. Doesn't matter the brand, but going from a pickle tub for print cleaning with a foil lined box for curing to a machine that does it all? Works great for me.
I'll report back if I drop dead. I find it odd CA doesn't have warning labels all over the stuff. But then no info on long term effects either I suppose.
(Coming back around the 'thread... @Ianator)
Honestly, if Lychee was good previously, I wouldn't change slicers. I would look to see if Lychee allows you to place manual supports, and do like I described.
If not? Well, Chitubox is free, so you're just out time and effort setting up another program.
Because there are very few studies done, and fewer still able to scope long term effects.
It's one of those things where, the risk just isn't worth it. Even the eco stuff has chemicals in it I don't want in my body for any reason (did a little googling today, might want to read that MSDS a little closer).
Cobalt is naturally occurring, and that shit will turn your lungs to shredded paper without you even knowing it.
More on point, a face full of just concentrated IPA fumes isn't good for your lungs and eyes.
Lychee is the best, you can do manual supports in the prep phase, just click the type you want and click on the model, it'll even draw the support as you mouse around.
I like using the auto to see where it thinks I need supports first, and then clearing it and doing it by hand.
I just wasted a perfectly good nap on half a print that didn't make it to the build plate.
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Yeaaaah. I've been bit by that lazy bug once. Never again!
Screen stuck to the bottom of the print bed instead of the printer. That peeling sound was not resin, it was the screen's cable.
There's $40 I'm never seeing again...
EDIT: Hang on it's just peeled off, not actually torn. There's still a chance.
EDIT JR: Oh lol that's why my prints were crappy, I forgot to take off a second layer of protective film.
EDIT the 3RD: My money's on "Ian's buying another screen."
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
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I am waffling between the mars 3 (pro?) and the anycubic photon m3. But hard to tell if there is much in the way of meaningful differences at my level of understanding though.
Get yourself a cheap pack of A4 projector paper. Clear polyethylene stuff, sometimes called transparency film. Cut a piece to cover the entire vat bed.
Boom, screen safe for like $12. It'll save you against blob burn (when that print fails, sits on the FEP, and then runs for hours creating a hot spot), FEP failure, vat leak, butter fingers, and probably more.
Because it's removable, easily cleaned, and quickly replaced, I've become a huge fan. I tried a "professional" protector, and it sucked to use by comparison.
There's a chance I can get this ribbon where it needs to go. Might actually ask a buddy who's better at hobby electrical stuff.
But boy am I mad at myself right now. Waited a month for this screen and ruined it in a week.
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
Backlog Challenge List
RESIN PRINTING
(I torched a new touch screen on one of my printers 3 days after I got it)
While I know I am going to have a long road ahead of me just getting it to do existing prints, I am starting to look ahead into making my own models.
There are a lot of different 3D softwares out there! It seems like people like some engines more for different things. I primarily want to make model miniatures so a mix of organic elements, cloth, but also industrial elements. I want to make fantasy DnD minis but also stompy Battletech robots.
The internet seems to suggest blender for robots and stuff like SculptGL for fantasy heroes. Definitely going to focus on only one software to begin with but, what do folks here like for these sorts of applications?
Blender has a huge curve and isn't super user friendly, but it is wildly powerful and feature rich.
Don't forget, Windows built in 3d viewer is awesome too. It's repair function can get a bugged STL printing on it's own usually, sometimes fixing things Lychee misses. It's slice fiction is usually where I start when kit bashing.
Also if you have issues setting up, or with anything else, don't hesitate to reach out
I ended up going with the Anycubic M3, in part because I could not figure out if I was ordering an actual printer or just pre-ordering a printer for a future shipment from Elegoo.
Also grabbed a wash and cure station and an air purifier because why not.
I recently dipped into Blender to try some simple stuff, and despite it being obtuse on its face I think I cracked the nut with understanding some simple concepts in its workflow, UI, and toolset that makes me very excited for kitbashing digital models.
Don't forget to lube your all thread! I degreased my second machine and put on a PTFE lube to reduce maintenance.
Prusa have just posted a tutorial on how to do sculpting using the free version of ZBrush, and they posted an earlier article about sculpting stuff in general.
Goddamn, I thought starting with FreeCAD was hard mode. OpenSCAD looks like Ultra Nightmare Mode with One Hit Kills. Hooooooly shit.
Really my biggest complaint about FreeCAD (which is Powerful, and Free, which are both Good) is that it's married to some code that restricts it to single-CPU-core operation. It really bogs down on complicated projects, which some of my designs have juuuuuuust started to edge up on. It also has a weird internal object-face-labeling convention that it follows, which can cause entire designs to break if you're not careful, but I run into that pretty infrequently with a smidgen of thoughtful planning.
@Anon the Felon Something like this?
Some of there types of sheets can be UV resistant, which you obviously don't want, these aren't. Just something to watch for.
I write code for a living, so that approach to things makes sense to me, wheres every time I've tried using a visual CAD package I get totally lost. I remember trying one of the freecad tutorials and something didn't work the way the tutorial said it would (relating to constraints, if I remember) and I was completely unable to get unstuck and had to just start from the beginning again. It feels like if I knew enough to know what I was doing wrong it would be easier to not do things wrong, but I am both ignorant _and_ bad at it which is an awkward combination.
Also, my ambitions are very basic -- everything's just combinations of cubes and cylinders (and occasionally a hexagon if I want to put a nut in somewhere for a bolt to fix to). This is a holder for digital camera batteries, for example:
and the code is just this:
battery_h = 50.1;
battery_d = 15.5;
big_corner_r = 3.7;
small_corner_r = 1;
spacing = 4;
n_w = 2;
n_h = 3;
base_th = 4;
base_h = 12;
module battery() {
translate([big_corner_r, 0, 0])
cube([battery_w - big_corner_r*2, battery_d - small_corner_r, battery_h]);
translate([big_corner_r, big_corner_r, 0])
cylinder(r=big_corner_r, h=battery_h, $fn=32);
translate([battery_w - big_corner_r, big_corner_r, 0])
cylinder(r=big_corner_r, h=battery_h, $fn=32);
translate([0, big_corner_r, 0])
cube([battery_w, battery_d - (big_corner_r + small_corner_r), battery_h]);
translate([small_corner_r, battery_d - small_corner_r, 0])
cube([battery_w - small_corner_r * 2, small_corner_r, battery_h]);
translate([small_corner_r, battery_d - small_corner_r, 0])
cylinder(r=small_corner_r, h=battery_h, $fn=32);
translate([battery_w - small_corner_r, battery_d - small_corner_r, 0])
cylinder(r=small_corner_r, h=battery_h, $fn=32);
}
difference() {
cube([battery_w * n_w + (n_w + 1) * spacing, battery_d * n_h + (n_h + 1) * spacing, base_h]);
union() {
for (x=[0:n_w-1], y=[0:n_h-1]) {
translate([spacing + x * (spacing + battery_w), spacing + y*(spacing+battery_d), base_th])
battery();
}
}
}
which is a bit of fiddling around to get the rounded corners to work properly, but I feel like there'd be the same amount of fiddling if I was using a CAD package, just in a visual way rather than manually adding offsets in code.
Below, between the screen and the FEP/vat. Think of it as a loose screen protector. You can tape it down if you want.