So i’ve dived into the world of resin printing and I have to say, it’s a micro nightmare lol. But I’ve learned a few things…I think. So if anyone decides to get into resin printing I can help to some degree just shoot me a message.
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When you feel like you’ve learned enough to want to teach a class, we’ve been wanting to get a resin printing class on the schedule 
CC @wynd
All we have is a formlabs printer yea? We should prob get a more DIY friendly printer if that’s the case. Also should I swing by and take an inventory of what we have vs what we need? Resin printing is consumable heavy, I think i’ve gone through 2 rolls of paper towels in 3 weeks lol.
Took longer than I wanted it to to get to this point but I’m glad i’ve got it dialed in for the most part. Soon I’ll need a larger printer to start on prop fabrication
The screen needs replacing and so does the resin. It’s turned into goop since it has been sitting for so long.
Replacement screen cost is either more than the cost of a new small printer or equal/slightly less than buying a mid-size printer. People should just bring in their own resin (from an approved list) and the space provides things like paper towels, alcohol, FEP sheets etc.
We had been doing only resin provided at Asmbly with purchase in Neon for amount you use. Are we running low on supply? This machine is hosted by @Tookys.
CC @EricP
I checked up on the printer this last weekend, seemed to have a good amount of resin.
There were a couple of issues though.
-The wiper blade wasn’t properly seated so it wasn’t wiping properly, and it was blocking the platform from getting into position.
-there was solidified resin from failed prints in the platform. I did some steps to help clean it.
Yes the use tends to use a lot of paper towels, When I use the printer I have it in a fume hood area, (its not a functional fume hood it just helps keep the mess contained)
One thing that can be done to help make cleanup easier is to get a form wash → https://formlabs.com/store/form-wash/
It’ll allow you to get the parts washed while on the platform, before needing to wipe everything down.
I’m not sure how much money has been collected from its use or what the plans would be to setup a workspace.
If a class is wanted for the printer i could help arrange one.
@valerie @Tookys What’s the average use of the Printer? I know that resin has a shelf life of like 2 years sealed and a few months open. I don’t know how Formlabs deals with that, but i know their tanks are self contained so does that extend resin life?
I don’t think the resin printer is used very often at all. @leadership or @valerie would be better to answer that question. Also using an individuals self provided resin would mean that they would need to clean the tank, the screen, etc and we currently only have 1 tank and screen available.
No different than cleaning up after using any other tool in the shop (yes I know some people don’t even do that very well). Possible issue will be FEP damage and replacement (this is cheap and we can have a lot on hand and charge like 2 bucks per sheet if someone punctures it). Don’t get me wrong I love the form2 but it’s limiting in color availability for sure.
I use a Resin printer at home. If someone is putting together a class, I’m happy to contribute!
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I do periodically see Neon purchases for resin printer use, maybe once a month. Not very often.
In another makerspace I introduced resin printing after FDM was well established. What I found it that it was a very little used tool. Partly because we didn’t have a related niche SIG (board games, jewelry, model building, etc) and partly because there was never enough interest to keep a class on the schedule. It was a chicken and egg scenario.
If we do again offer a class then I’d be interested in taking it.
Yea there is that, you really want to have to make miniatures or dentures to get into resin it seems lol. I think scale is another issue, people don’t really think of what can be made when you have a large format resin printer over the smaller ones. But once again leads to “a chicken and egg” issue as it’s a hard sell for a 1k+ printer when people don’t use a $300 one that often (excluding Formlabs and Prusa as they are very expensive even at smaller build volumes) but they don’t use the cheaper one that often because the build volume is limiting.
So I just bought a larger Resin Printer this week so I maybe able to host my old printer at the space if that’s something we want to do. The printer works just fine my only issue is that I need to solve the Vat FEP sheet problem (I can’t find replacement FEP gaskets for my model, I may need to buy a different model’s vat assembly and see if that works).
@Devmani what model do you have? I have some spare FEP sheets that measure 140x200mm.
could always buy larger and cut down too.
Nova3d Elfin2 mono SE. the sheets are easy to source but the way it was made (I haven’t changed the fep yet so maybe the gasket splits into two pieces) was that you bought the gasket and fep as a single replacement. Can’t find that combo on Amazon or Aliexpress. It’s possible that the Bene mono vat will just drop in and it’s resolved but I haven’t bought it yet to try it out.
I’ve seen some interest expressed in the past in having more types of resin in the resin printer. I think having a second one might make that more feasible. Maybe one stays “only Asmbly provided resin” and the other is “bring your own and change it out every time”? I’m very ignorant in this realm, so might be talking crazy on that second one. I hear it’s very expensive to change out the resin type.
Either way, I think a resin printer class would help a lot especially if we highlight in the description for it what makes this printer unique and worth using.
@valerie the only expense of changing resin is time lol. I swap between different colors all the time, it takes about 10-15 minutes. Really it’s about people cleaning up properly after use. I suppose if someone wanted to be really granular they could measure out the exact amount of resin needed for their print so when they are done they waste very little.