I can't believe its almost over, these two weeks have flown by! There's only 36h left to order the H&S Squidmar Airbrush! Thanks all you beautiful people who decided to get one already! I cant believe how many of you have been excited about it - THANKS! harder-squidmar.de/eng
Waiting patiently for mine to arrive, I cannot wait! Its a beautiful design and a great upgrade from my Badger 360. Although I had just decided against spending on a H&S then you changed my mind! It's all your fault Squidmar 😂
I wonder if we will get any notification about that it has been shipped. I have zero information since I ordered on the very first day. Squidmar, do you have any info about that part?
@@GrafitTomi Check the website you ordered it from. There's an update on shipping under service/help tab. Long story short if you ordered on day one, your's will ship anywhere between yesterday and december 31.
I’m actually allergic to the fumes/gasses given off as resin is hardened in the printer. Took the better part of a year & many doctors visited to figure it out… so I have a printer but it’s at a friend’s & he prints whatever files I sent him. I’ve been a patreon of Titan Forge minis for over a year & have always been pleased with their designs & presupports.
That’s rough! I accidentally was too lax with my exposure early on and sensitized myself (had the full shebang, dried skin, blisters, etc) so now I break out if there’s even a bit of residue on my skin for a bit
Did you by any chance not wear a respirator/not install proper ventilation for your printer? People seem to mostly understand you need gloves, but they just straight up fail to understand that breathing the fumes contained in uncured resin can make you develop systemic health problems and - like in your case - make them develop allergies, in turn making them unable to operate a resin printer ever again.
Definitely recommend against using the included plastic spatulas. Use a rubber spatula and you won't scratch the fep. Also, use microfiber cloths to clean it!
In the US, Dollar Tree sells microfiber towels, silicone spatulas in different shapes, as well as a shower squeegee with a silicone blade that's a good size for quickly cleaning larger surfaces like a build plate. Cheap.
For anyone who didn't know, when running the clean sequence, when setting the seconds, press the actual number and it brings you to another screen where you can put in how long to expose without having to press the up or down button multiple times.
I have a Phrozen Mini 4K, I had issues with failed prints. Since I started warming my resin before printing I have had zero failed prints. Just leave the resin bottle in a bowl of warm water while you get everything setup and its warm enough in 5 minutes. Its also worth mentioning I made one print with my Phrozen Mini 4K and hated the smell, long story short I cut a hole in the side of my printer cover, got some duct pipes and fans and piped it out of my window. I can now print and work in my office, not a single smell. Its amazing!
Lol I havent cleaned my vat in 4 months just keep adding new stuff. Give it a stir and away you go. Even left it as an experiment for 3 weeks. Made ZERO difference to the print quality.
@@MrBizteck Same. My resin vat just gets a good stir, then topped off with some new resin and another good stirring, it's set. I only clean the vat when I have to, and even then, you can just run the LCD test to solidify the entire bottom and just peel that off along with all the little failures sticking to the FEP. It's pretty fast and easy to recover from failures this way!
@@GoobertownHobbies Same here. I haven't really cleaned the tray in a year, just remove whatever gets stuck. Resin printing is somewhat situational and somewhat luck based. I never had the nasty problems that some people complain about.
I switched to water washable resin. So no more IPA less fumes quicker easier clean up. I have been getting great results with elegoo’s water washable resin.
To add to your first tip, if you remove the build plate and set it in the vat while the clean mode is on it will stick to the plate and make removing it much easier
Men vilken guldklimp som dök upp bland mina föreslagna videos! Jag har precis börjat printa i resin, den här videon var kanon och gav mig många värdefulla tips! Stort tack!
HI on the miniature you where saying that we can recycle th supports but i didn't found this chapter on your video so how can we recycle the supports ? ( sorry for my english , I am french)
I would recommend one of the cheaper curing stations meant for nail studios. Just check that it has a function that allows to have the light on all the time. On most of these curing boxes you have changeable UV light bulbs so you can replace burned out bulbs easily. Also most of them have a reflective surface all over their inside so no fiddling willth foil. These boxes are quickly found on the internet. My boyfriend and I have found this thing quite useful and we don't mind having to do a little adjustment in the minis position to get everything cured. It works for what we need and I guess it is a decent alternative between some diy contraption and a real curing station both in price and quality
I have a nail curing thingy, but needed a bigger curing station. So I built one by simply buying UV light strips for cheep like 10 dollars. Then I get a box, cover the inside with foil, and then stick the UV light strips inside. It's the ugliest yet the best thing I have ever made
Also a tip that improved my prints greatly: use PTFE lubricant on the FEP before pouring the resin in. This totally eliminated the problem of prints sticking to the FEP and extends the life of the FEP. Also, I use a water washable resin, and I use a flexible magnetic build plate. When cleaning the minis, I rinse them in a bucket, then I remove the supports, THEN I put them in the wash station. Gets the prints much cleaner, and keeps the wash liquid cleaner.
Stupid question, as someone considering a cleaning station: are there any that include a cycle that agitated the wash fluid with the UV lights on? I'd like that to help clean alcohol a bit to extend its life.
@@rcrawford42 I know that the anycubic wash and cure station can't do that. You probably wouldn't want it in the cleaning container anyway because over time there is a lot of resin that builds up and would probably clog the the whole thing up. I always transfer the alcohol in a large glas jar and put that in the wash and cure machine without the turntable and clean the alcohol that way.
That trick with the leftover supports to aid in vat cleaning is going to save me so much hassle. No more digging around with a spatula and damaging the FEP. Thanks!
You can also carefully use your gloved knuckle on the underside of the FEP to rub and push the print, just enough to lift off a corner and hold it off the FEP while you get the scraper under the edge to lift. Takes a minute to get used to but good when you don't want to waste resin exposing the whole vat.
I have been printing with an ABS PLA printer for 3 years (scenery mainly), and I started printing with a resin printer a couple of months ago. I started with an elegoo mars 2K pro and a Mercury plus curing machine. I have been printing with water washable resin, and apart from calibration, the only issue I had was changing my VAT plastic (I followed a tutorial by Elegoo). That's it... I have 0 fail, and I printed 5L worth of resin, I am absolutely in love with my printer, and if they were more affordable I would buy a gigantic one to print my terrain with it. My good old Enders 3 is a great printer, but I am always fixing, changing, tuning mechanical things (bed, extruder, tube, everything), a resin printer is litteraly no work at all. Put the resin in, get a supported model, press print... Done.
I'm with ya on the Phrozen, they are awesome, I got a Sonic Mini 4k, and you also should mention they are NOT a Chinese company, they are Taiwanese. Small difference, but it's important. And the cleaning/curing station is awesome too. I have one of those too.
I had the same issues until I switched to water washable resins. It is so much better imo. Only the cleaning needs a bit more work, as it is only a mechanical cleaning, not an additional chemical process as you have with IPA. But getting rid of the IPA sets off the higher cost for the water washable resin and did much to keep me safe from any health related issues.
Please do not underestimate the dangers of the resin you are operating with. While IPA is a toxic chemical, resin contains way more toxic chemicals. If you don't treat the resin like it is way more dangerous than the IPA you are endangering yourself, you need to protect your respiratory system and skin from absorbing the resin's VOCs at all times uncured resin is not contained fully airtight or ventilated, or you will develop system health problems in time.
I bought a halot mage and have printed some Warhammer models and the printer works great but my cureing station is a cardboard box with tinfoil on the inside and a hole on the top for a uv bulb
One tip a lot of people miss: CHECK YOUR ROOMS TEMPERATURE. Especially in Europe, it's getting cold these days. Most standard resins do need a working temperature of above 20°C, better 25°C. You can heat the resin up on a radiator beforehand, thus helping the print to stick in the beginning. In the process of printing, the resin will warm up due too the reaction while curing the resin. If raising the temperature is not an option, you will need to raise the exposure setting, to hit it longer with UV light. Optimally, do a "XP2 Validation Matrix" test print right before a larger, critical project.
homebrewers have a similar problem with temperature. You can buy electric heating belts that wrap around the vat for like $10 from homebrew supply stores
Me and my gf just did our first test print on our mini 4k, the rook came out great and I CANNOT WAIT to start throwing models in. One thing I would love is maybe a “you got a 3D printer now what” video, I feel like I have the world at my fingers and I don’t know where to grab on.
IMO the best way to go about it as a newbie like what I did was doing my research before buying a 3d printer, find out what I needed and go out and buy it, have it set up and ready to go before you buy your printer.
Lichi is perfect for auto supports, i use it every time and with a 98% success rate. Another tip before curing put ur prints in hot water for 5 mins and the support practically fall off leaving no nubs or indents, then let dry before curing. These tricks have mad reson printing a breeze.
With lift speeds you can actually go the other way, with very fast settings (180mm/min+) that reduce both the force and time, though slow speeds are more reliable. There's a grey zone of 'medium' speeds between 60-180mm/min that have the largest peel forces. It's a bit like ripping off a bandage - you either want to go really fast or really slow.
Thats what I found with the Saturn, initially default settings caused constant fails to the point where I almost gave up, went slower (and also anyone with a Saturn, increase your lift distance, those big FEPs flex a lot!) Finally decided to go fast instead and it was just as good. Its only the middle speeds that cause issues.
@@davidmccurdy8911 same here. Ever since going to 185mm (or 180, not sure) I have significantly less fails and whats even cooler, the prints are stupid fast. Printed out a couple modular 28mm Minis (legs and upper body seperated) in under an hour.
You really have to have your printer calibrated perfectly for vroom settings to not get fails. Not that you shouldn’t have that done anyway, but a lot of people don’t and that’s why they have problems with fast lift speeds.
@@Chef_PC I think I have been super lucky then, I set them to the Sirya tech settings (even though I use Elegoo resin) ramped up the speed and off I went. I have had more problems over the last few days but I am putting that down to changing the mainboard so I had the top off so need to get my levelling just right again
@@davidmccurdy8911 I used vroom for a few months before my screen burned out (not likely related), and have just now gotten back to it. Fresh resin and having the printer dialed in really helps out everything though. I use Siraya Navy now almost exclusively because it’s moderately priced and I’ve had fewer fails than any of the other brands, especially Elegoo.
I have a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k, and I can't recommend getting a Wham Bam magnetic plate for it enough. Getting prints off the plate is *so* much easier now, and the only reason I've had to use a scraper since has been to remove prints that failed cause it's too cold out. Go slow, keep the resin warm, and get magnetic plates. Made me fall in love with printing.
I really considered getting one of those until I got a super cheap solution. "FOSHIO 2PCS Plastic Razor Scrapers" still using the first blade and it gets all the prints off the metal plate easily. About $12 lifetime supply if blades. safe for my build plate and it just works.
@@nathangerardy2669 I've used those at work and they're great, but i find the plate is easier/faster, and I don't have to worry about pre-supported files that are so small they'll fall through the mesh of my wash+cure machine.
the lift speeds and first layer cure time was the first thing i ever did to fix my failed prints on elegoo mars 2 mono. a great printer for a great price
In my experience with 3d printing most issues are caused by users. It is by far cheaper I've saved a ton of money myself already. Ive had mine a couple of months and had zero issues outside of the first couple of days sorting settings out.
I don't empty the vat when I have a failed print. I use a plastic razor blade and take it off in one clean piece when possible. Once removed I literally stick my fingers in the resin for any strays. I print everyday and this method works everytime. No need to take the vat off and damage the film. Been printing for 4 months with two machines and no issues.
Super late to the party, but I just got a printer recently, and thanks to your videos, and others around, I was so prepared. I've had 2 failures, both due to user error, but all of my prints have been amazing, really just due to following advice and calibrating. It's been so painfree. A friend of mine got into 3D printing a few years ago, and just became so jaded towards the whole process that he ended up getting rid of his printers, and I can't say I blame him, and if I had jumped on at the same time, it would totally be gathering dust right now, but the information out there is so much better than it was, and I am having the best time. Thanks for making cool videos like these
One thing i never understood before getting a cure station is you have to have your curing setup under the fume hood/tent system you have alongside you printer because the short curing duration and even the wash pumps a crap ton of alcohol into the air. I would not be surprised at all if there were a good amount of resin VOCs in those fumes as well.
Putting them in the tank so when you use the clean tank function, the old supports become handles for you to pull the newly hardened layer out of the tank
This video made me look into phrozen as my possibly my first printer. But then realised the video is 2 years old and it seems like the printer market is constantly evolving. Living in sweden the most popular store online doesn't seem to sell them at all. Has any cubic surpassed them? Or should I go for the phrozen 8k S that seems reasonably priced, directly on their site?
I love the Anycubic Mono X! Also, the wash and cure is amazing! It was a huge upgrade from the goofy plastic containers I was using lol. If you get/have a Mono X, I recommend you spend a whopping 15 for a BIQU flexible build plate. Phenomenal!!
I've been printing for several weeks and right now I can't print anything properly. Just yesterday I've started printing some space marine parts: left and right arms, legs, head, torso, a bolter, decided to print the rest later, and the only things that printed were the legs and the bolter, and the rest was stuck on the fep film in an approx 0.85 mm layer which took me 15 mins to scrape off with a METAL spatula, which obviously ruins the fep. I'm frustrated as hell and I genuinely don't know what to do at this point. I've cleaned the vat, I've releveled the printer, I've rotated everything by 45 degrees like everyone always does, used supports, even set up my exposure time recently, 2.3 seconds, everything looks fine in chitubox, yet every time I get a mess. I'm using an anycubic mono 4k. I don't know what to do.
you should do a complete cure of the residues before throwing them into the garbage can. you know that the resin can be toxic both for human beings and for plants and animals.
He doesn't care, and none of these dudes ever mention stuff like that. Fuck, I've seen some minitard just dump his wash water down the drain in a vid about water washables. Ah well, it will be their families, water systems, and pets getting poisoned and growing cancer, not mine.
Is it cold where you print? I only have fails when its too cold. Once I turn the heater I put in the printer I've had no failures with any resin. (10+ different brands)
If your fep keeps building pools of cured resin over the duration of the print try these things one at a time: clean resin by straining it, clean fep with alcohol and lint-free tissue, reduce exposure times, check fep for scratches or ghost mark and replace it as needed,, reduce laser intensity from 100% in 5-10% increments. Hope that helps someone. Add more helpful methods if you’ve got them.
Great list. I was a little surprised about the complaints though. I've been FDM printing for over 3 years and SLA printing for about two months but no matter what printer or material I've ever used, I always managed to get a print to complete successfully. When it actually failed, it was my fault because I forgot to wipe the bed clean of my finger prints (with FDM printer) or forgot to support an isle on an SLA print, etc.
I 100% agree with everything in this video. I started with an FDM and now I have been using a Phozen Mighty 4K and it would not be fun without the accessories like the Anycubic wash & cure, I’d also recommend the magnetic and steel plate from Wham Bam.
Got my first AnyCubic printer and Wash n Cure last March at the start of the pandemic. I've loved making my own minis so much, I upgraded to a newer Anycubic over the summer. Its amazing how much the tech in these things is changing year over year. When I bought my new one, Mono screens were newer and 4K was the hot up and coming tech. Not just 6 months later, everyone has 8K printers out. But honestly I love my current one, and the Wash n Cure is great. I can keep this printer for maybe 5 years and who knows what kind of crazy stuff will be out there by then.
Would love to get into resin printing, but I'm paranoid about the fumes and my 2.5 yr old toddler getting messy with it. As a dad yourself, how do you protect your hobby space from tiny hands?
I have it in the studio, in a seperate room! But talking to danny from 3d printed tabletop and goobertown, apparently its not as toxic as one could think as long as the room is properly ventilated.
..and ten years later your kid gets asthma, all resin fumes are toxic and printers work for hours spewing them around, resin printer is something that you keep in separate workshop, not your hobby space.
@@randomnickify That's where the 'well ventilated' part comes in, so you don't have fumes lingering. There are a lot of solutions, but the easiest is probably a fan attached to the printer and some ducting out of the window
I run mine in the kitchen on the cooker, with the extractor hood fan running. If you want to be super sure you are getting all the fumes you can put plastic sheeting around the cooker hood down to the printer. TBH I find the printer cover keeps most of the fumes inside, you only ever get a slight smell when the cover is off.
I have tried several times using old supports to peel off that resin sheet after using the clean vat function. It never worked. They never "merged" with the sheet.
wait, isn't the smelly part a safetymeasure? I thought that resin was a toxic material to hinale too, making it smelly allows you to know that the area is saturated in resin and you have to move away
Even if you can't smell the resin it's still quite dangerous to be breathing it in large quantities. You need special organic filters in masks to filter it out. An evacuation system for the air in the room is also highly recommend. Shits dangerous, but if your smart and carefully it's a very rewarding hobby! Printed out a T'aunar and had tonnes of fun!
Thant last tip , run 140mm lift speeds called zoom settings and i have sonic mini 4k not had a fail since and halved my print times. much slower on the mighty though.
Phrozen printers ha e been awesome for me. I've had 3 brands and the Phrozen brand is the only one that worked the 1st time and have not given me any issues. The Phrozen 4K Aqua Grey is my go to resin now. It just works, doesn't smell and I have had zero fails with it. Great video.
I have an Elegoo mars 2 mono that i love. I use Elegoo black resin and have the calibration charts for the various colors of resin manufactured by Elegoo. Yes colors do matter and each has its own calibrations. I haven't had a failed print in a year or more now. The main thing is keeping the vat deposit free and changing the FEP every 50 prints or so. I use chitubox slicer and i keep an eye on the calibration settings as sometimes pre-supported models may also have the calibration set up already into the stl file and it might not match the settings of the resin.
The technology has come so far over just the last few years, I'm curious to try 3D printing myself. Also, love your uninterested face in all the random images 🤣
do you use water wash resin at all or have video on what need to get for other resin trying work out what to get it be for miniature models and maybe a starwars helmet :D
Hi guys! I am veeery new to 3d printing and I am just planning on buying the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K 3D Printer. So do I need a curing station also? How does that work? Please help, I'm lost :) Thank you :)
The resin failing might be setings and if it's not setings it might be temperature that is the problem, some resin are big babies when it comes to temperature, the work in the goldilocks range not to hot, not to cold, just right if the setings are aces then try heating up the build plate for better sticking, if you have temp controle in the printing room then read up on the just right temp and set it to that~ It might make your life all sunshine and unicorn farts~
No once cured it's that way for good. But luckily its not alot that you'd be losing, and since you'll have parts of a mini, you can keep them in the bits box.
that vat clean spure thing didnt work for me but if i just leave it 24 hours ( if i have the time) the vat clean layers must shrink and curls up its self.. and i can lift it out
i dont feel like printing anymore because of the cleanup of the vat. Everytime i support my own sculpt i get a failed print. I have check for the cleanup set up but i dont have one , so i will try as suggested do a full screen test for the time of 40 sec. Great video thanks!
I know this video wasn't about painting really, but watching some of your videos I see that your painting handle has a little arm on it. What is that for?
i started with a phrozen and it shit the bed after 3 months and they never answered any of my emails for support switching to an elegoo saturn after xmas
All advice here is solid. However, worth noting, some printers benefit from uping the lift speeds. Both my Elegoo Saturn and Creality Halot One stopped giving any fails after doubling the lift spees.
I've been planning to get a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K instead of an Anycubic Photon but have been hesitant because everyone and their dog has a Photon, and it can't be that ubiquitous without a reason, right? It's nice to have some validation on that choice.
Hmm, listening to your last tip, I wonder if there was a way for 3D printers to be programmed to calculate that lifting force based on the speed and the current surface area of the printing layer and auto-adjust the lift speed to keep it around a certain amount of force. (I mean, obviously it's possible, it's just a matter of someone going the extra mile/kilometer :P to do the programming)
As a space scale model builder I often use old support structures as "girders" in spaceship wreckage as the background of a diorama. Great for stuff like Gundams.
Yes Greg at 3d printing pro is literally a genius when it comes to these machines. Saved my printer from the gumtree! Love this vid squid! Keep up the good work. Wish I could paint as well as you!
Elegoo water washable clear blue, photon s, 18s/6layer burn in, 35um/5s light off delay/ 9s exposure/ 4.5mm lift, 115mm/m and 150mm/m ... Have not have a failed print since, minis turn out great
I love my Sonic Mighty 4k, started with mechanical parts for engineering, but I've gone CRAZY with minis lately too! it doesn't help I can print like 15 at a time
I agree with all the point except for pre-supported prints. Because I tend to upscale my prints and make them into display pieces and not game pieces the miscommunication between the slicing software and the 3d printer morphs the premade supports into literal walls of resin that are hard to break off, leave holes in the models and just make the whole thing unusable. I guess in the end it just depends on what you want to do with the sculpts.
I can't believe its almost over, these two weeks have flown by! There's only 36h left to order the H&S Squidmar Airbrush! Thanks all you beautiful people who decided to get one already! I cant believe how many of you have been excited about it - THANKS!
harder-squidmar.de/eng
Waiting patiently for mine to arrive, I cannot wait! Its a beautiful design and a great upgrade from my Badger 360. Although I had just decided against spending on a H&S then you changed my mind! It's all your fault Squidmar 😂
@@reefarolla32 haha sorry not sorry, you're gonna love it :)
I wonder if we will get any notification about that it has been shipped. I have zero information since I ordered on the very first day. Squidmar, do you have any info about that part?
Is this a good airbrush for a beginner?
@@GrafitTomi Check the website you ordered it from. There's an update on shipping under service/help tab. Long story short if you ordered on day one, your's will ship anywhere between yesterday and december 31.
I have a 2D printer and I always skip a generation when upgrading, so I’ll be patient and wait for the 4D printer
Loool
I hate you. I'm in physical pain from laughing so hard at that.
Do you still have your 0D printer?
Underrated
The good news, is that a 4D printer will let you make things retroactively.
I’m actually allergic to the fumes/gasses given off as resin is hardened in the printer. Took the better part of a year & many doctors visited to figure it out… so I have a printer but it’s at a friend’s & he prints whatever files I sent him. I’ve been a patreon of Titan Forge minis for over a year & have always been pleased with their designs & presupports.
That’s rough! I accidentally was too lax with my exposure early on and sensitized myself (had the full shebang, dried skin, blisters, etc) so now I break out if there’s even a bit of residue on my skin for a bit
Damn. hope y’all are doing OK.
What were your symptoms? I'm wondering if I'm in the same boat
Resin printers don't give off fumes when they cure... its just the smell of resin.
Did you by any chance not wear a respirator/not install proper ventilation for your printer? People seem to mostly understand you need gloves, but they just straight up fail to understand that breathing the fumes contained in uncured resin can make you develop systemic health problems and - like in your case - make them develop allergies, in turn making them unable to operate a resin printer ever again.
Definitely recommend against using the included plastic spatulas. Use a rubber spatula and you won't scratch the fep. Also, use microfiber cloths to clean it!
In the US, Dollar Tree sells microfiber towels, silicone spatulas in different shapes, as well as a shower squeegee with a silicone blade that's a good size for quickly cleaning larger surfaces like a build plate. Cheap.
For anyone who didn't know, when running the clean sequence, when setting the seconds, press the actual number and it brings you to another screen where you can put in how long to expose without having to press the up or down button multiple times.
I have a Phrozen Mini 4K, I had issues with failed prints. Since I started warming my resin before printing I have had zero failed prints. Just leave the resin bottle in a bowl of warm water while you get everything setup and its warm enough in 5 minutes.
Its also worth mentioning I made one print with my Phrozen Mini 4K and hated the smell, long story short I cut a hole in the side of my printer cover, got some duct pipes and fans and piped it out of my window. I can now print and work in my office, not a single smell. Its amazing!
You saved me i dont have a sense of smell but my fam does so i keep getting hate and anger thrown at me, ya saved me
I have a elegoo carbon filter. Was £105 and is astonishingly good quality and effective
solid list! #1 was actually news to me, now I gotta see if any of my printers have a vat cleaning button!
Lol I havent cleaned my vat in 4 months just keep adding new stuff. Give it a stir and away you go. Even left it as an experiment for 3 weeks. Made ZERO difference to the print quality.
@@MrBizteck Same. My resin vat just gets a good stir, then topped off with some new resin and another good stirring, it's set. I only clean the vat when I have to, and even then, you can just run the LCD test to solidify the entire bottom and just peel that off along with all the little failures sticking to the FEP. It's pretty fast and easy to recover from failures this way!
@@MrBizteck I only clean when there's stuff stuck to the FEP :-)
It's in the menus , I have one on my epax 6 .
@@GoobertownHobbies Same here. I haven't really cleaned the tray in a year, just remove whatever gets stuck. Resin printing is somewhat situational and somewhat luck based. I never had the nasty problems that some people complain about.
@Squidmar Miniatures avoid using tissue paper when cleaning the fep and resin basen try using microfibre cloth instead to avoid scratches
Why? Not like tearing things up cost him anything. They'll just send another.
@@camojoe83 if the FEP gets scratched it's pretty annoying, plus it will mess with later prints. Replacing fep sheets is also a hassle.
I switched to water washable resin. So no more IPA less fumes quicker easier clean up. I have been getting great results with elegoo’s water washable resin.
Same here. The resin I use is virtually odour free as well
To add to your first tip, if you remove the build plate and set it in the vat while the clean mode is on it will stick to the plate and make removing it much easier
Men vilken guldklimp som dök upp bland mina föreslagna videos! Jag har precis börjat printa i resin, den här videon var kanon och gav mig många värdefulla tips! Stort tack!
HI on the miniature you where saying that we can recycle th supports but i didn't found this chapter on your video so how can we recycle the supports ? ( sorry for my english , I am french)
I would recommend one of the cheaper curing stations meant for nail studios.
Just check that it has a function that allows to have the light on all the time.
On most of these curing boxes you have changeable UV light bulbs so you can replace burned out bulbs easily. Also most of them have a reflective surface all over their inside so no fiddling willth foil.
These boxes are quickly found on the internet.
My boyfriend and I have found this thing quite useful and we don't mind having to do a little adjustment in the minis position to get everything cured. It works for what we need and I guess it is a decent alternative between some diy contraption and a real curing station both in price and quality
I have a nail curing thingy, but needed a bigger curing station. So I built one by simply buying UV light strips for cheep like 10 dollars. Then I get a box, cover the inside with foil, and then stick the UV light strips inside. It's the ugliest yet the best thing I have ever made
Also a tip that improved my prints greatly: use PTFE lubricant on the FEP before pouring the resin in. This totally eliminated the problem of prints sticking to the FEP and extends the life of the FEP. Also, I use a water washable resin, and I use a flexible magnetic build plate. When cleaning the minis, I rinse them in a bucket, then I remove the supports, THEN I put them in the wash station. Gets the prints much cleaner, and keeps the wash liquid cleaner.
Any good alternatives? Haven't heard good things about teflon
I have had so bad results with water washable resin. A lot of times it started cracking months after the print...
@@manuelklein7627 this is the issue with water washable, its the trade off sadly.
Happy to hear you’re running with a wash and cure station. Makes that resin cleanup a lot better.
Yeah, what was the brand/model again, please?
Stupid question, as someone considering a cleaning station: are there any that include a cycle that agitated the wash fluid with the UV lights on? I'd like that to help clean alcohol a bit to extend its life.
@@rcrawford42 I know that the anycubic wash and cure station can't do that. You probably wouldn't want it in the cleaning container anyway because over time there is a lot of resin that builds up and would probably clog the the whole thing up. I always transfer the alcohol in a large glas jar and put that in the wash and cure machine without the turntable and clean the alcohol that way.
That trick with the leftover supports to aid in vat cleaning is going to save me so much hassle. No more digging around with a spatula and damaging the FEP. Thanks!
You can also carefully use your gloved knuckle on the underside of the FEP to rub and push the print, just enough to lift off a corner and hold it off the FEP while you get the scraper under the edge to lift. Takes a minute to get used to but good when you don't want to waste resin exposing the whole vat.
I have been printing with an ABS PLA printer for 3 years (scenery mainly), and I started printing with a resin printer a couple of months ago. I started with an elegoo mars 2K pro and a Mercury plus curing machine. I have been printing with water washable resin, and apart from calibration, the only issue I had was changing my VAT plastic (I followed a tutorial by Elegoo). That's it... I have 0 fail, and I printed 5L worth of resin, I am absolutely in love with my printer, and if they were more affordable I would buy a gigantic one to print my terrain with it.
My good old Enders 3 is a great printer, but I am always fixing, changing, tuning mechanical things (bed, extruder, tube, everything), a resin printer is litteraly no work at all. Put the resin in, get a supported model, press print... Done.
I fnn love your videoediting nowadays, your videos are soo fun to watch, bäst är du mannnnn!
I'm with ya on the Phrozen, they are awesome, I got a Sonic Mini 4k, and you also should mention they are NOT a Chinese company, they are Taiwanese. Small difference, but it's important.
And the cleaning/curing station is awesome too. I have one of those too.
There won't be a difference in a couple months lmao
@@danzo5521 You are probably right, but I am still hopeful it won't happen.
@@Nephanor same here
They’re a Taiwanese company, not a West Taiwanese company? I’m sold on them for sure now.
@@bearonatricycle1082 "west Taiwanese" 😭🤣
I had the same issues until I switched to water washable resins. It is so much better imo.
Only the cleaning needs a bit more work, as it is only a mechanical cleaning, not an additional chemical process as you have with IPA. But getting rid of the IPA sets off the higher cost for the water washable resin and did much to keep me safe from any health related issues.
Please do not underestimate the dangers of the resin you are operating with. While IPA is a toxic chemical, resin contains way more toxic chemicals.
If you don't treat the resin like it is way more dangerous than the IPA you are endangering yourself, you need to protect your respiratory system and skin from absorbing the resin's VOCs at all times uncured resin is not contained fully airtight or ventilated, or you will develop system health problems in time.
I bought a halot mage and have printed some Warhammer models and the printer works great but my cureing station is a cardboard box with tinfoil on the inside and a hole on the top for a uv bulb
One tip a lot of people miss: CHECK YOUR ROOMS TEMPERATURE. Especially in Europe, it's getting cold these days. Most standard resins do need a working temperature of above 20°C, better 25°C. You can heat the resin up on a radiator beforehand, thus helping the print to stick in the beginning. In the process of printing, the resin will warm up due too the reaction while curing the resin. If raising the temperature is not an option, you will need to raise the exposure setting, to hit it longer with UV light. Optimally, do a "XP2 Validation Matrix" test print right before a larger, critical project.
homebrewers have a similar problem with temperature. You can buy electric heating belts that wrap around the vat for like $10 from homebrew supply stores
@@Serpsor good to know, will check it out!
@@Serpsor i was really confused and asking myself "why would dnd homebrew content creation have to do anything with temperature?"
Me and my gf just did our first test print on our mini 4k, the rook came out great and I CANNOT WAIT to start throwing models in. One thing I would love is maybe a “you got a 3D printer now what” video, I feel like I have the world at my fingers and I don’t know where to grab on.
IMO the best way to go about it as a newbie like what I did was doing my research before buying a 3d printer, find out what I needed and go out and buy it, have it set up and ready to go before you buy your printer.
Lichi is perfect for auto supports, i use it every time and with a 98% success rate. Another tip before curing put ur prints in hot water for 5 mins and the support practically fall off leaving no nubs or indents, then let dry before curing. These tricks have mad reson printing a breeze.
With lift speeds you can actually go the other way, with very fast settings (180mm/min+) that reduce both the force and time, though slow speeds are more reliable. There's a grey zone of 'medium' speeds between 60-180mm/min that have the largest peel forces. It's a bit like ripping off a bandage - you either want to go really fast or really slow.
Thats what I found with the Saturn, initially default settings caused constant fails to the point where I almost gave up, went slower (and also anyone with a Saturn, increase your lift distance, those big FEPs flex a lot!) Finally decided to go fast instead and it was just as good. Its only the middle speeds that cause issues.
@@davidmccurdy8911 same here. Ever since going to 185mm (or 180, not sure) I have significantly less fails and whats even cooler, the prints are stupid fast. Printed out a couple modular 28mm Minis (legs and upper body seperated) in under an hour.
You really have to have your printer calibrated perfectly for vroom settings to not get fails. Not that you shouldn’t have that done anyway, but a lot of people don’t and that’s why they have problems with fast lift speeds.
@@Chef_PC I think I have been super lucky then, I set them to the Sirya tech settings (even though I use Elegoo resin) ramped up the speed and off I went.
I have had more problems over the last few days but I am putting that down to changing the mainboard so I had the top off so need to get my levelling just right again
@@davidmccurdy8911 I used vroom for a few months before my screen burned out (not likely related), and have just now gotten back to it. Fresh resin and having the printer dialed in really helps out everything though. I use Siraya Navy now almost exclusively because it’s moderately priced and I’ve had fewer fails than any of the other brands, especially Elegoo.
I have a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k, and I can't recommend getting a Wham Bam magnetic plate for it enough. Getting prints off the plate is *so* much easier now, and the only reason I've had to use a scraper since has been to remove prints that failed cause it's too cold out. Go slow, keep the resin warm, and get magnetic plates. Made me fall in love with printing.
I really considered getting one of those until I got a super cheap solution. "FOSHIO 2PCS Plastic Razor Scrapers" still using the first blade and it gets all the prints off the metal plate easily. About $12 lifetime supply if blades. safe for my build plate and it just works.
@@nathangerardy2669 I've used those at work and they're great, but i find the plate is easier/faster, and I don't have to worry about pre-supported files that are so small they'll fall through the mesh of my wash+cure machine.
Putting supports into the vat for the cleaning process is genius, I've almost punched a couple holes in FEP trying to pry that sheet up.
the lift speeds and first layer cure time was the first thing i ever did to fix my failed prints on elegoo mars 2 mono. a great printer for a great price
Can you make a video on how to use and clean the new squidbrush? (the airbrush)
In my experience with 3d printing most issues are caused by users. It is by far cheaper I've saved a ton of money myself already. Ive had mine a couple of months and had zero issues outside of the first couple of days sorting settings out.
The editing in this video was fire.
I don't empty the vat when I have a failed print. I use a plastic razor blade and take it off in one clean piece when possible. Once removed I literally stick my fingers in the resin for any strays. I print everyday and this method works everytime. No need to take the vat off and damage the film. Been printing for 4 months with two machines and no issues.
I hope you mean gloved fingers
@@Doodlebob563 I'll try to keep it at a 4 weeks long rash from resin burn on my arm
I'm using Elegoos water washable resin and I find that fantastic.
Yep thats my go to also
@@MrBizteck I think they’ve recently improved the formula.
Super late to the party, but I just got a printer recently, and thanks to your videos, and others around, I was so prepared. I've had 2 failures, both due to user error, but all of my prints have been amazing, really just due to following advice and calibrating. It's been so painfree. A friend of mine got into 3D printing a few years ago, and just became so jaded towards the whole process that he ended up getting rid of his printers, and I can't say I blame him, and if I had jumped on at the same time, it would totally be gathering dust right now, but the information out there is so much better than it was, and I am having the best time. Thanks for making cool videos like these
One thing i never understood before getting a cure station is you have to have your curing setup under the fume hood/tent system you have alongside you printer because the short curing duration and even the wash pumps a crap ton of alcohol into the air. I would not be surprised at all if there were a good amount of resin VOCs in those fumes as well.
Slick video dude! And packed full of useful tips, very useful for someone who already has a printer but is put off by the experience thus far
Did i miss something in this video.....what are we saving the supports for?
Putting them in the tank so when you use the clean tank function, the old supports become handles for you to pull the newly hardened layer out of the tank
This video made me look into phrozen as my possibly my first printer. But then realised the video is 2 years old and it seems like the printer market is constantly evolving. Living in sweden the most popular store online doesn't seem to sell them at all. Has any cubic surpassed them? Or should I go for the phrozen 8k S that seems reasonably priced, directly on their site?
I love the Anycubic Mono X! Also, the wash and cure is amazing! It was a huge upgrade from the goofy plastic containers I was using lol. If you get/have a Mono X, I recommend you spend a whopping 15 for a BIQU flexible build plate. Phenomenal!!
I've been printing for several weeks and right now I can't print anything properly. Just yesterday I've started printing some space marine parts: left and right arms, legs, head, torso, a bolter, decided to print the rest later, and the only things that printed were the legs and the bolter, and the rest was stuck on the fep film in an approx 0.85 mm layer which took me 15 mins to scrape off with a METAL spatula, which obviously ruins the fep. I'm frustrated as hell and I genuinely don't know what to do at this point. I've cleaned the vat, I've releveled the printer, I've rotated everything by 45 degrees like everyone always does, used supports, even set up my exposure time recently, 2.3 seconds, everything looks fine in chitubox, yet every time I get a mess. I'm using an anycubic mono 4k. I don't know what to do.
you should do a complete cure of the residues before throwing them into the garbage can. you know that the resin can be toxic both for human beings and for plants and animals.
He doesn't care, and none of these dudes ever mention stuff like that. Fuck, I've seen some minitard just dump his wash water down the drain in a vid about water washables. Ah well, it will be their families, water systems, and pets getting poisoned and growing cancer, not mine.
OOOOOH ALMIGHTY IKEA SAVING EVERYONE'S LIVES.
Also the editing was soo much fun as well
This video is so perfect. I just purchased my first 3D printer and I am a noob. This helped so much!
Yeah I'm in the same boat, mine just arrived about an hour ago!
Is it cold where you print? I only have fails when its too cold.
Once I turn the heater I put in the printer I've had no failures with any resin. (10+ different brands)
If your fep keeps building pools of cured resin over the duration of the print try these things one at a time:
clean resin by straining it, clean fep with alcohol and lint-free tissue, reduce exposure times, check fep for scratches or ghost mark and replace it as needed,, reduce laser intensity from 100% in 5-10% increments.
Hope that helps someone.
Add more helpful methods if you’ve got them.
Great list. I was a little surprised about the complaints though. I've been FDM printing for over 3 years and SLA printing for about two months but no matter what printer or material I've ever used, I always managed to get a print to complete successfully. When it actually failed, it was my fault because I forgot to wipe the bed clean of my finger prints (with FDM printer) or forgot to support an isle on an SLA print, etc.
I 100% agree with everything in this video. I started with an FDM and now I have been using a Phozen Mighty 4K and it would not be fun without the accessories like the Anycubic wash & cure, I’d also recommend the magnetic and steel plate from Wham Bam.
Danny is awesome dude!!
Got my first AnyCubic printer and Wash n Cure last March at the start of the pandemic. I've loved making my own minis so much, I upgraded to a newer Anycubic over the summer. Its amazing how much the tech in these things is changing year over year. When I bought my new one, Mono screens were newer and 4K was the hot up and coming tech. Not just 6 months later, everyone has 8K printers out. But honestly I love my current one, and the Wash n Cure is great. I can keep this printer for maybe 5 years and who knows what kind of crazy stuff will be out there by then.
Would love to get into resin printing, but I'm paranoid about the fumes and my 2.5 yr old toddler getting messy with it. As a dad yourself, how do you protect your hobby space from tiny hands?
I have it in the studio, in a seperate room! But talking to danny from 3d printed tabletop and goobertown, apparently its not as toxic as one could think as long as the room is properly ventilated.
..and ten years later your kid gets asthma, all resin fumes are toxic and printers work for hours spewing them around, resin printer is something that you keep in separate workshop, not your hobby space.
@@randomnickify That's where the 'well ventilated' part comes in, so you don't have fumes lingering. There are a lot of solutions, but the easiest is probably a fan attached to the printer and some ducting out of the window
... ever heard of a door, dude?
I run mine in the kitchen on the cooker, with the extractor hood fan running. If you want to be super sure you are getting all the fumes you can put plastic sheeting around the cooker hood down to the printer. TBH I find the printer cover keeps most of the fumes inside, you only ever get a slight smell when the cover is off.
I have tried several times using old supports to peel off that resin sheet after using the clean vat function. It never worked. They never "merged" with the sheet.
wait, isn't the smelly part a safetymeasure?
I thought that resin was a toxic material to hinale too, making it smelly allows you to know that the area is saturated in resin and you have to move away
Partly yes. Some a more smelly than others, it also seems to be a person to person issue as well. But once lids are on you can't smell anything.
Even if you can't smell the resin it's still quite dangerous to be breathing it in large quantities. You need special organic filters in masks to filter it out. An evacuation system for the air in the room is also highly recommend. Shits dangerous, but if your smart and carefully it's a very rewarding hobby! Printed out a T'aunar and had tonnes of fun!
The smell is only a result of the volatiles which happen to be toxic/irritants.
Doh... missed out on getting it, been ill for a while and just checked it out a few days ago - missed the deadline 😪
Thant last tip , run 140mm lift speeds called zoom settings and i have sonic mini 4k not had a fail since and halved my print times. much slower on the mighty though.
Phrozen printers ha e been awesome for me. I've had 3 brands and the Phrozen brand is the only one that worked the 1st time and have not given me any issues. The Phrozen 4K Aqua Grey is my go to resin now. It just works, doesn't smell and I have had zero fails with it. Great video.
Thanks for the tips, haven’t got a printer yet but this is amazing info to have when I finally drop for my dream printing
Editing on this video is on another level. Great!
Can you clean resin prints using IPA in an ultrasonic cleaner?
The resin fumes are poisonous so the smell help you identify if you have proper ventilation
I have an Elegoo mars 2 mono that i love. I use Elegoo black resin and have the calibration charts for the various colors of resin manufactured by Elegoo. Yes colors do matter and each has its own calibrations. I haven't had a failed print in a year or more now. The main thing is keeping the vat deposit free and changing the FEP every 50 prints or so. I use chitubox slicer and i keep an eye on the calibration settings as sometimes pre-supported models may also have the calibration set up already into the stl file and it might not match the settings of the resin.
Oh nice, I was thinking about getting a 3D printer to create scenic bases for my competition pieces. Nice!
The technology has come so far over just the last few years, I'm curious to try 3D printing myself. Also, love your uninterested face in all the random images 🤣
do you use water wash resin at all or have video on what need to get for other resin trying work out what to get it be for miniature models and maybe a starwars helmet :D
Give your editor a raise! Great video.
8:49 is this covered by the warranty?
If this happens often, I would never buy a printer if this is not covered.
You should buy a silicon spatula (slikkepott) to clean the fep. Avoids scratching the fep and you can easier scrape out all the resin left in there.
I have a filament printer and when I went to get the thing off the printer the metal spatula snapped in half.
Where do you buy your IPA?, it seems extremely expensive in Sweden (I am up in norrland).
Great video and very informative. Keep up the good work.
Do you have an elegoo mars pro ? And if yes please show me how to use it I have problems with mine
Thank you very much for the tips! 🎉
Hi guys! I am veeery new to 3d printing and I am just planning on buying the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K 3D Printer. So do I need a curing station also?
How does that work? Please help, I'm lost :)
Thank you :)
The resin failing might be setings and if it's not setings it might be temperature that is the problem, some resin are big babies when it comes to temperature, the work in the goldilocks range not to hot, not to cold, just right if the setings are aces then try heating up the build plate for better sticking, if you have temp controle in the printing room then read up on the just right temp and set it to that~ It might make your life all sunshine and unicorn farts~
Hi,
Nice 1 squidy! I'll sure be trying out lowering that liftspeed ;-)
Happy Holidays
Cheers
Evel
What do you do with miniatures that didn't print right? Can they be melted down to reuse the resin?
No once cured it's that way for good.
But luckily its not alot that you'd be losing, and since you'll have parts of a mini, you can keep them in the bits box.
I thought throwing uncured resin in the trash was bad, or is that just for the drain?
That last tip is going to get me to try another print this weekend.
that vat clean spure thing didnt work for me but if i just leave it 24 hours ( if i have the time) the vat clean layers must shrink and curls up its self.. and i can lift it out
Wooo hoooo 8k. 🥳
I don't have a lot of experience but i bought the reprapper 203 water washable resin and it has been fantastic
I have the issue with my Saturn 2 that only big prints tend to fail at some point... its really frustrating.
Can cured resin supports be recycled in any way?
i dont feel like printing anymore because of the cleanup of the vat. Everytime i support my own sculpt i get a failed print. I have check for the cleanup set up but i dont have one , so i will try as suggested do a full screen test for the time of 40 sec. Great video thanks!
Great list! I've been on the fence for a while about a wash and cure station. Hearing it here sounds like a solid upgrade from my IPA buckets
Thanks for the advice for the lifting speed, it will help my Fep film i think! thank you again i will try it this weekend!
I know this video wasn't about painting really, but watching some of your videos I see that your painting handle has a little arm on it. What is that for?
Try Siraya tech fast navy grey resin. Very high detail resin. They have print profiles for all major brand resins on their website.
i started with a phrozen and it shit the bed after 3 months and they never answered any of my emails for support
switching to an elegoo saturn after xmas
All advice here is solid. However, worth noting, some printers benefit from uping the lift speeds. Both my Elegoo Saturn and Creality Halot One stopped giving any fails after doubling the lift spees.
mighty 4k*
and
Mega 8k *
@3:08 FTFY ;)
as a fellow swede, would you mind share the brand for the funnel and filtration in the video (silen och tratten i plåt)
Köpte på clas ohlson för ett år sedan :)
I've been planning to get a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K instead of an Anycubic Photon but have been hesitant because everyone and their dog has a Photon, and it can't be that ubiquitous without a reason, right? It's nice to have some validation on that choice.
get a phrozen, doo it
Hmm, listening to your last tip, I wonder if there was a way for 3D printers to be programmed to calculate that lifting force based on the speed and the current surface area of the printing layer and auto-adjust the lift speed to keep it around a certain amount of force. (I mean, obviously it's possible, it's just a matter of someone going the extra mile/kilometer :P to do the programming)
As a space scale model builder I often use old support structures as "girders" in spaceship wreckage as the background of a diorama.
Great for stuff like Gundams.
Yes Greg at 3d printing pro is literally a genius when it comes to these machines. Saved my printer from the gumtree! Love this vid squid! Keep up the good work. Wish I could paint as well as you!
great video, printing orange resin is very very difficult as orange is a color which filters out UV, maybe try same resin in other colors!
Elegoo water washable clear blue, photon s, 18s/6layer burn in, 35um/5s light off delay/ 9s exposure/ 4.5mm lift, 115mm/m and 150mm/m ... Have not have a failed print since, minis turn out great
I love my Sonic Mighty 4k, started with mechanical parts for engineering, but I've gone CRAZY with minis lately too! it doesn't help I can print like 15 at a time
I agree with all the point except for pre-supported prints. Because I tend to upscale my prints and make them into display pieces and not game pieces the miscommunication between the slicing software and the 3d printer morphs the premade supports into literal walls of resin that are hard to break off, leave holes in the models and just make the whole thing unusable.
I guess in the end it just depends on what you want to do with the sculpts.