Resin Printer Help 240203

3D Fabrication
#1

Hello @mjdailey7, @John_Marlow @engpin, @aanne3,
@ceramicCAP @Team_3D_Fab, and the 3D Fab forum,

Working on project to print clear plastic
model.

Have acquired ANYCUBIC High Clear 3D Printer Resin and
Army Painter Warpaints Air Airbrush Gloss Varnish.

It is surmised that the best machine for printing
the model would be the Elegoo Mars Pro.

A thorough study of the online Elegoo Mars Pro
course has been completed.

Please accept a request for the date of the next
class on the legoo Mars Pro resin printer.
(A scan of the of the Makerspace Calendar
does not seem to show a class.)

Or if someone
familiar with the Form2 resin printer will be in
at MakerSpace in the near future perhaps they
could let me know when they will be there if they
could s the resin printer.

Thanks.

Allen Pitts

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Son of Resin Printer Help 240208
#2

Please keep us posted with how the clear printing goes (including pictures!) Very interested!

We no longer have a Form2 (AFAIK). We have a Phrozen 8K. You can see the list at this link.

I think the Phrozen is either out of service or undergoing testing right now. It’s larger and in theory has higher resolution than the Mars printers but you may not need that. The downside is that it has a huge resin vat so you’ll likely need more resin to fill it. It has online training that you can take after completing the Mars training. Even if you’re not going to use the Phrozen, I seem to recall that the video in it has some good tips about considerations for supporting/printing very large parts.

If you don’t need the size of the Phrozen, then you should probably use the Mars 3 instead of the Mars Pro. It operates the same way although the interface screen is a little different. It uses the same training but it prints faster and IMO a little more reliably.

AFAIK, none of us has printed clear resin on the Mars’. Clear requires more exposure than the other colors, so you will probably have to do some tests before you print your actual part. Elegoo’s recommendations are based on translucent resin - not transparent resin - so YMMV. You may want to run Cones of Calibration before you embark on your large part.

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For a printing strategy - obviously using very thin layers is going to give you the best surface finish. Rule of thumb is that when you reduce the layer thickness by 50%, you should use 75% of the thicker layer exposure. Obviously printing a bunch of thin layers is going to take longer than printing fewer thick layers. These could be very long prints depending on your part. IIWM, I’d print my part at the larger layer thickness to make sure the supports are good and then only when that checks out would I proceed to the thinnest layers.

The other comment I’ll make is that even with the most well-intentioned user, it’s difficult to get all the resin out of the vat when it’s being cleaned. Using clear resin you might want to buy your own dedicated tank. At the very least I would advise you to thoroughly clean the community tank before using it.

#3

Hello John_Marlow and the 3D fab forum.

The reference to Form2 was a typo. I think the best option
is the Elegoo Mars Pro.

The model is 2.5 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall so
don’t think the larger printer is required.

Thanks to Mr. Marlow for his excellent observations.

The online course has been studied carefully and notes
taken. But maybe watching
a video on what looks like a fairly complex process
provides sufficient knowledge. For instance, how
is the slicer file input at the resin printer?

It is realized that a surely as this or any other question
is asked an answer will be posted in reply. But it is
certain that there are many other questions that will
only be discovered in doing the process that are
not presently known.

Thanks.

Allen Pitts

#4

Not that this adds on to the conversation. FYI. When i am using resin, then i am not using the resin 3d printer. I do have abs that is pretty clear and works with the polyprinter. I also work with epoxy resin. Which would mean making a mold and casting your 3d image. So i say this, as an alternative to using the resin 3d printer that usually uses UV ray to create the 3d image. As i don’t know if it will have the effect in the video. I say this because other material for your 3d image may have different effect, when it comes to the translucent characteristic of your project.

#5

USB drive inserted into the front of the printer …

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#6

Hello 3D Lab forum,

Working on printing with the Elegoo 3 machine.
When the file is sliced
at the Chitubox V1.9.5
the Save button was
clicked and the file is saved by default as
__Eos_240131_wo_cyl_v2.cbddip.

When the USB drive was inserted at the
Elegoo 3 machine and the Print icon
chosen and the
__Eos_240131_wo_cyl_v2.cbddip
chosen the machine returns ‘Unknown file
format!’

It was conjectured that the printer
wants a .ctb file. So back at the
Chitubox V1.9.5 was sliced again
to get the Save button to appear and the
file saved as
_Eos_240131_wo_cyl_v2.ctb

At the Chitubox V1.9.5
a search was done for how to create
a .ctb file.

At the Chitubox V1.9.5 at the pancake
stack icon there is
File
Open Project
Save projectthe
…
Open
Save as All models Selected models
…
Examples
Quit.

Nothing about saving in a different format.

The menu icons across the top are
Open File
Save Project
Screenshot and records
Revoke
…
Dig Hole
Repair

Nothing about saving in a different format.

A perusal of the Help > Quick Start
reveals that after the Slice > Save
button the opportunity to save
in a variety of formats is availed.

So the slice was saved as
__Eos_240131_wo_cyl_v2.ctb
and returned to the printer
and the Print icon
chosen and the
__Eos_240131_wo_cyl_v2.cbt
file chosen.

The machine returns ‘Unknown file
format!’

How does one get the printer to recognize the file?
Is the .cbt file the correct format?

Thanks.

Allen Pitts

#7

there is a class online please make sure to take it first

#8

Hello @engpin and the 3D fab form,

First post in this thread: Feb 3, 2024:

Thanks.

Allen Pitts

#9

You are using CBT and CTB as file extensions in your question. Dunno if that’s a typo or if you’re trying to distinguish between the two. CTB is the correct file extension that the printer needs.

EDIT: Go read this other post and see if it solves your problem. Looks like this person posted the exact same problem.

#10

Hello John_Marlow and the 3D fab forum,

Have tried a dozen different combinations of machines
and file formats trying to get the Elegoo Mars3
printer to recognize a file.

For instance, at the forum post

says to use workstation 3dfab-05 but it looks like Chitubox
is no longer installed on workstation 3dfab-05.

Have tried the other
workstation 3dfab-04 with ctb. .cbddlp formats
workstation 3dfab-03 with ctb. .cbddlp formats
workstation 3dfab-02 with ctb. .cbddlp formats

All files return ‘Unknown file format!.’
at the Mars 3 printer.

There is an older file on the USB drive
with fileName.ctb. When the older file is
accessed at the
Mars 3 printer displays an image of the model
beneath the file name. In none of the attempts shown
above does the model image appear.

In the post referenced above there is
mentioned
‘Chitubox says the way to fix this problem 3 is to recreate the printer profile.’
Have followed these links and several Help file topics without
any luck on how to recrate the printer profile.

Have searched all the icons and tabs in Chitubox V1.9.4
and Chitubox 1.9.5 for the link to setting up or creating
or recreating the printer profile.

Does anyone know the secret to making this work?

Thanks.

Allen Pitts

#11

Do we have LycheeSlicer installed anywhere? You can specify which model of printer you’re using, and search up the resin you’re using(more common ones will have a pretty reliable profile from my experience). Then just export to your computer and copy that to a USB. I think it might be an easier way to go about it.

#12

I have done a lot of resin printing and there are a few things to note. 1, clear resin take longer exposure times to cure, 2, the wash should be good and long, and the cleaner the IPA the better, 3, lastly after the second cure the print will look cloudy, there are two ways of fixing this. Wet sanding and/a gloss clear coat. Wet sanding take time and is good for large flatter surfaces, and gloss clear coats works great for more intricate parts. These can also be used together to make almost perfect optically clear part.

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