My experience with MSLA 3D printing starts from the year '14 when i bought a Micromake L2 MSLA printer for about 500 Euros. Back then was one among the affordable to buy resin printers in the market ( just before ANYCUBIC ). Since then i bought many others comparing their specifications with L2 as well as prices. My resin printer list includes a Creality too ( for those that loves Creality’s FDM printers).
My point here is to share a link that will help others to start resin 3D Printing: Top 11 Reasons Why You Should Start Resin 3D Print
Believe me, is not as messy and hard to deal with resin printing as it sounds. Soon, i’ll post many tips and tricks i use in my daily printings that makes my life a lot easier with.
Check the link out, let me know what you think, your wonderings, your fears about resins, platform adhesion etc.
I’m here to solve all your resin printing problems an boost you to this magnificent way of highly detailed and accurate 3D printing. Top 11 Reasons Why You Should Start Resin 3D Print
Ps.1 Oh! Did i mention that there are resins like PLA and ABS ? No?
Ps.2 In the printers attachment from left to right: Phrozen mini Mono, Micromake L2, Kelant D100, Creality LD002R, Anycubic Photon Mono.
Great post! Resin printers make some amazing looking figurines. However, there are two factors that concern me. Can you comment on the safety issues involved in printing resins? Are fumes more of a concern that with FDM (excepting ABS)? Also, what slicer do you use? Chitubox’s control of hardware and software concern me. For those who may not be aware, Chitubox makes most of the hardware used in resin printers. Recently, Chitubox seems to be locking the hardware to their slicer software. The Elegoo Mars 3 printer, for example, will not print files unless those files are digitally signed by the Chitubox software. This is a showstopper for me.
Thanks!
P.S. – With all those resin printers, that’s alot of isopropyl alcohol to keep on hand!
I love the part of the article where he says everyone must be part of 1 of the categories. Uh, sorry, but nope, I’m not part of any of the categories. I have zero interest in desktop figurines or jewelry, and I can print drone parts (if I ever want to) on my FDM printers.
The whole ‘support thing’ also bothers me. I’m not quite sure why resin printers need supports, but the idea of having to clean them off sounds tedious to the max.
Also, @Alan’s comment about Chitubox is disturbing. Hopefully, if Chitubox continues down the proprietary road, it will spur others to create more open source printers.
I’m glad resin printing exists as a choice, and I get that it’s an advantage for some things, but they’re not things I want to print.
Well, Chitubox ( as their board are called CBD boards) are open source as well, but Elegoo or Anycubic or Phrozen or Kelant or Elegoo or EPAX have locked their firmware. There are open source SLA boards on the market too!
As technology evolve, resins are getting safer and safer every time. I never use cheap UV resins as they are not safe as the “expensive” ones. Almost every UV printer manufacturer produce their UV resins too in specific standards that meets US and EU safety standards. You must use Nitrile gloves as resins are sticky on hands. Smell a little bit to none depends on the type. Safety glasses is a must ( i don’t use ) for protecting eyes from accidents. Cleaning the resin with IPA ( smells ) or new cleaning liquids like “Resin Away” ( no smell). There are water washable UV resins.
Anyway, you have to keep an air ventilation in your printing room same as in FDM printers! The whole process i’ll show you guys soon. It’s a piece of cake!
For slicer i use Lychee since it is the most reliable slicer! Chitubox and Lychee were translated in Greek by me ( you can check it out ) !
Lychee comes with almost any SLA or MSLA printer firmware specs for file exports. This means that will include Mars 3 soon.
Supports huh? Well, in UV resin printers you can print the most complex parts you’ve ever imagined! And because of their build structure ( bottom up ) the model needs supports to be printed ( same philosophy in FDM printing but very thin so to be able to cut them off easy.
The models can be thick to very delicate. And while the build table allows as many parts as you can place, the build time is the same ( oh yes ) In FDM the nozzle need to build layer by layer ( as well as in MSLA ) but part by part unlike in MSLA that builds a whole layer of all parts at once! For instance a layer of 0.02 can be cured in 1,5 - 2 seconds ( in Monochrome screens ) irrelevant the size of the built plate and the number of the objects on it. This is speed!
Of course FDM is used for specific type of objects and MSLA or SLA or DLP is for more delicate highly detailed objects such as figurines, micro mechanisms, jewelry, dental, medical, model kits etc.
attached you’ll see an example of supporting a armored vehicle’s hull.
I do understand the differences in the way the printing is done, but my understanding is that almost all resin models need supports, while 90% or more of mine are printed without supports. Even when I do use supports, they are very minimal, and I started using Tree Supports, so there is minimal contact between the supports and the model.
I have 2 FDM and one resin printer. Now I have learned more about FDM I find I can get pretty good results for the majority of model projects, however I do still use the resin printer when additional detail or complexity is required. Its all a trade off speed v quality v convenience. I just rejoice that the technology exits and we have the choice to use either or both. Only a few years ago neither existed.
My biggest problem with resin-based printers is the resin. What a mess and wearing gloves all of the time makes playing with my 3d printers much less fun. I absolutely understand their place in industry I just do not see their place in homes with hobbiests.
P.S. I also have stayed away from working with metal and welding, not because it does not interest me, but because I do not have the right space with the right ventilation. In my home climate, you can only work outdoors for about 6-7 months a year.
I generally like hobbies I can do in my basement so I stick to woodworking, 3d printing, programming, and electronics.
When I was growing up, in the very early days of computers, there was a computer training company named CDC. Their television ads highlight that by learning about computer repair you could fix things and keep your hands clean. Basically, they were pitching auto, HVAC, and mechanical repair folks about the new world of computers.
Control Data Corporation. Wow, there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. They had very unusual computers with uncommon bit-word sizes and using 1’s complement architecture. I recall how they were in the running to be the main trajectory, flight path, and other very complex space calculation computer suppliers (much to IBM’s chagrin). Their computers could do calculations others simply could not. I believe IBM actually won out in the end, but CDC sued IBM.
I once programmed on a Cyber 170. It had a very unusual power “backup” solution. It wasn’t really a backup; it was a “give me enough power to shut down cleanly” solution. It consisted of a tall, narrow cabinet with a very large vertical copper coil. The computer’s power ran through this coil. Next to the coil was a magnetometer. If the magnetometer reading dropped below a certain level, the computer would go into emergency shutdown mode, suspending all running processes and writing their states and data to hard drives dedicated to that purpose. The 170 also used plug-in modules, about the size of a cigarette flat pack. If one failed it was easily replaced.
I have had (and sold) 2 resin printers. I love the detail and the quality of the prints, but with everything else I have going on, I can’t take the time to (properly) handle the mess of resin. Also, I’m not very adept (is that the right word? LOL) at the finishing process required to produce what should be beautifully finished resin prints. Perhaps one day I will come back to it, but for now, I have too many FDM printers to “look after” LOL. I love the conversation going on here though!
If you take a look at my pictures in my first two posts, you’ll see scale models. Yes i love scale modeling since my birth and right now i start produce casted resin kits. So the molds were made in resin printer because of the extremely details ad accuracy they offer. Many scale modelers are helped to make their model parts through resin printing. So the answer is YES, there is a place in homes for hobbyists as well.
The mess is only at the beginning while gaining experience with resin printers and printing. I prepare a step by step lesson for the beginners with tips and tricks to help them reduce printing failures and speed up printing time with great possible results.
So stay tuned and let’s learn something…together
