Preventing leaks on the Resin Printer

3D Fabrication
#1

Twice recently the printing LCD on the Elegoo Mars resin printer had to be replaced. The vat (tank) was stuck to the printer with cured resin and removing the vat destroyed the LCD.

These actions can prevent that:

(1) Resin hygiene. Wipe up any little dribbles over the side of the vat or on the LCD before printing.

(2) Leak-check new tanks, or tanks with new FEP film. This is especially important for personal tanks. (Fill with water. Place on paper towel. Let it sit at least four hours).

(3) Check for holes in the FEP film before printing.

  • Never scrape the FEP with sharp objects.
  • If you drop a tool or the build plate into the vat, immediately check the FEP film for holes.

(4) Empty the vat after every printing session. This does two things:

  • Makes it easier to check for resin residue and/or vat leaks
  • Limits moisture that forms on the bottom of the FEP/top of the LCD.
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#2

This is very important. Clean Tank/Resin is vital!

I also tend to use the ‘Tank Clean’ feature which is great for getting the little bits that get crushed into your FEP. Worse case is the bit is large enough to crack your LCD.

I had a large print job and due to time was not able to empty/clean the vat every time but the ‘Tank Clean’ made the risk much smaller. Out of 32+ print runs I only have one small leak caused by stray bits. Helps to have a clean tank standing by.

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#3

Just wanted to clarify this feature because it wasn’t clear how to properly use it for me at first. To use this feature, you will have a full layer of resin in the vat so that it covers the full surface. I like to run the clean for about 60 seconds. Then you pour out the resin (filtering of course) and pull off the now cured square of resin. This removes all of the possible bits left behind by a failed print. This is not intended to clean the last bits of resin out of the tank (I thought this might be the case and then realized it was useless for this purpose). You will still need to rinse out with water and IPA to get the tank really clean, but this removes the tedious and risky step of trying to scrape bits off of the FEP with a gloved fingernail or the plastic scraper (NEVER THE METAL).

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