First 3D prints - Advice sought

[Spike]

I have started using my Anycubic Printer - which is a Mono X, I am using 3D Jakes light Grey resin. Having spent time researching printer settings and methods to tune in the settings I have set about print validation matrix's testing different exposure settings to get an understanding of the printer.

Having tuned in the bottom layers and now working on the normal layer exposure time I have hit an issue as to the surface finish of the prints and would welcome any advice as to what I might be doing wrong before I finish tuning in the settings and start printing parts for the model.

I can only describe the finish as uneven in the appearance, the black bits are where I have written the settings on the back to remind me what I did.

I have been using different normal exposure settings varying from 1 sec up to 2 secs during these validation prints and the appearence does not differ.



Any help and advice would be most welcome.

Regards
Peter

 

[mickoo]

That looks seriously over exposed to me, also have you cleaned it in IPA by any chance and left it too long, that can sometimes blur the details.

Be aware that generally speaking flat surface parallel to the build plate tend not to be smooth, which is why most people angle their models, but you can't do that with the test print as it's designed to be printed flat.

I never got on very well with flat test prints, they're quick and cheap in resin but a better one I found was Amerlabs town test print, it's more 3D and more like a real print so gives much more useful data than a pure flat one.

AmeraLabs town test print for resin 3D printers together with the guide on how to understand its features

AmeraLabs Town 3D printer test print will ease the stress of calibrating your 3D printer. Read the full guide and download free STL.

ameralabs.com

I'd also be suspect of the resin, 3D Jake is one of the cheaper sources of 3D machines and resin, they don't get good write ups from what I've seen and I've never heard of 3D Jake resin so it could be any old crap they have on the shelf. You're better off heading to one of the more expensive and well know brands from Elegoo, Anycubic or Siraya Tech.

Go for a darker grey as well, the darker the colour the better they seem to respond, black being one of the best I believe but dark grey works well, lighter colors and transparent resins require much different times, you may find the advice you've got is for a darker resin.

Finally what layer height are you using, you'll get better results the thinner they are, I can't remember if that test piece (yes I've used it many times before I got the Form) locks the layer height, try going for 25 microns or if your machine will support it then 10 microns.

Finally finally, 3D printing is not an exact science, what works for others may not work for you and vice versa, the best description of 3D printing is a cross between wizardry, blind guessing and sheer good luck.

 

[Mike Trice]

Overexposed. This might be due to the Mono X printing transition layers between the base layers and normal layers. Search out the equivalent test piece on AnyCubic Photon Mono X Owners | Facebook assuming that is not what you used for your test.

 

[Rob R]

I have been 3D printing for 9 months now and have learnt two important things about it.
3D printing = Dark Art
Essential workshop equipment = a much bigger bin.

Enjoy the (sometimes b####dy frustrating) journey.
Rob

 

[Spike]

That looks seriously over exposed to me, also have you cleaned it in IPA by any chance and left it too long, that can sometimes blur the details.


I never got on very well with flat test prints, they're quick and cheap in resin but a better one I found was Amerlabs town test print, it's more 3D and more like a real print so gives much more useful data than a pure flat one.


I'd also be suspect of the resin, 3D Jake is one of the cheaper sources of 3D machines and resin, they don't get good write ups from what I've seen and I've never heard of 3D Jake resin so it could be any old crap they have on the shelf. You're better off heading to one of the more expensive and well know brands from Elegoo, Anycubic or Siraya Tech.

Go for a darker grey as well, the darker the colour the better they seem to respond, black being one of the best I believe but dark grey works well, lighter colors and transparent resins require much different times, you may find the advice you've got is for a darker resin.

Finally what layer height are you using, you'll get better results the thinner they are, I can't remember if that test piece (yes I've used it many times before I got the Form) locks the layer height, try going for 25 microns or if your machine will support it then 10 microns.

Thank you Mickoo for the suggestions and guidance, I have today ordered new resin, went for Siraya Tech Navy Grey following your point around darker resins. Checking in Lychee Slicer today there are some default settings for the resin I have purchased so will start with those and see what it does.

I have been cleaning in IPA and yes I think I have been leaving too long in the IPA.

I have downloaded the town test print and will move away from the flat one.

I was using a layer height of 50 microns for the test prints but the printer can get down to 10 microns.

Regards
Peter

 

[mickoo]

Peter,

Two statements there raise concerns, time in IPA and 50 microns.

Mike is also correct about blending layers between base layers and normal layers, one of the reasons why flat tests tend not to work very well because you're trying to get detail into layers that are effectively foundation layers, as such they are grossly over exposed because they need to be rock solid to stick to the base plate. That's why the town test is better because most of the object is at actual printing layers and therefore the most detailed layers.

Depending on the resin IPA can have a bad effect, it can act like a solvent if left long enough on some resins, use fresh IPA and leave it in there for no more than 5 minutes, give it a bit of a helping scrub with an old soft modelers paint brush then pull it out and leave to air dry, blow on it to accelerate the IPA burn off and it'll leave it with a nice matt finish.

Some resins do not fully cure in the printing machine and need further curing with UV light so the resin is only half cured and soft, leaving in IPA will be disastrous as it'll melt it even further. For an exposure test you probably don't need to worry about fully curing, you'll see all the information you need once the IPA burns off, detail won't/shouldn't change during final curing.

50 microns for a test piece is high, I think the normal setting is 25 microns, the thicker the layer the less detail it can print.

Siraya Tech Navy Grey is a good resin, I've not used it myself but I've never read a bad thing about it and some printers swear by it, certainly the models I've seen, usually goblins and middle earth dwarfs etc look really good. If I was still running my old hobby printer then that's probably where I would have migrated to by now, or at least significantly tested, it's certainly a good middle ground and reliable resin.

Google and print forums are great, do a shed load of leg work pounding the web pages, there will be some using the same resin with the same machine, both are very popular main stream items, that'll give you a really good ball park figure to start with, then you can tweak up or down to suit your set up.

Resin temperature can also have an effect, some print best within a certain temperature range, depends where your printer is, if it's inside and the ambient is around 20-25°C then you should be okay, but if it's outside in a shed or garage then the temp might get down to 12-16°C and that'll probably be too cold for the resin to work well.

 

[Spike]

Peter,

Two statements there raise concerns, time in IPA and 50 microns.

Mike is also correct about blending layers between base layers and normal layers, one of the reasons why flat tests tend not to work very well because you're trying to get detail into layers that are effectively foundation layers, as such they are grossly over exposed because they need to be rock solid to stick to the base plate. That's why the town test is better because most of the object is at actual printing layers and therefore the most detailed layers.

Depending on the resin IPA can have a bad effect, it can act like a solvent if left long enough on some resins, use fresh IPA and leave it in there for no more than 5 minutes, give it a bit of a helping scrub with an old soft modelers paint brush then pull it out and leave to air dry, blow on it to accelerate the IPA burn off and it'll leave it with a nice matt finish.

Some resins do not fully cure in the printing machine and need further curing with UV light so the resin is only half cured and soft, leaving in IPA will be disastrous as it'll melt it even further. For an exposure test you probably don't need to worry about fully curing, you'll see all the information you need once the IPA burns off, detail won't/shouldn't change during final curing.

50 microns for a test piece is high, I think the normal setting is 25 microns, the thicker the layer the less detail it can print.

Siraya Tech Navy Grey is a good resin, I've not used it myself but I've never read a bad thing about it and some printers swear by it, certainly the models I've seen, usually goblins and middle earth dwarfs etc look really good. If I was still running my old hobby printer then that's probably where I would have migrated to by now, or at least significantly tested, it's certainly a good middle ground and reliable resin.

Google and print forums are great, do a shed load of leg work pounding the web pages, there will be some using the same resin with the same machine, both are very popular main stream items, that'll give you a really good ball park figure to start with, then you can tweak up or down to suit your set up.

Resin temperature can also have an effect, some print best within a certain temperature range, depends where your printer is, if it's inside and the ambient is around 20-25°C then you should be okay, but if it's outside in a shed or garage then the temp might get down to 12-16°C and that'll probably be too cold for the resin to work well.

Thank you Mickoo for your suggesions, I have this week had success with the printer and the town validation model. So much so that I have been able to print items for models successfully.