SLA /MSLA 3D printing with an Elegoo Mars Ultra - with a model making inclination

[Gary MacKenzie]

I am starting this hopefully as a blog.
The machine is set up, ( finally got Wi-Fi communication between my PC's slicing software and the printer to work. )
I now need to make an enclosure for it to sit in as the workroom it is going into is too cold ( ambient temp ) and I intend to make a housing with some heating system and a vent any smells to the outside of the house , to cover all the angles.
I will add more info when and If I progress ( or indeed revert back from any advances i make.

rule 1: wear gloves when handling isopropanol and resin.

 

[Jim R]

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses. Plenty of photos and explanations please. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has zero understanding of this 3D printing malarkey

 

[Andy T]

I'll follow along.

I'm still on the fence, not sure if I'll get enough use out of a printer to make it worthwhile, but this blog might push me over the edge

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

I'll follow along.

I'm still on the fence, not sure if I'll get enough use out of a printer to make it worthwhile, but this blog might push me over the edge

I was on the fence / gathering funds for a long time, I just bit the bullet.
If I can beat it into submission ( really just a temperature problem ) then i can find enough things I want to print to break even by the end.
Also going to try and do some CAD work , see how much I remember form the days of autocad on a 8086 with an 8087 maths coprocessor to make it actually do the maths properly.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I’ll keep an eye on this as well. I’m very interested in these machines but am in two minds due to the need to locate them away from living areas.

 

[Ian M]

Go for it. I am 100% on the brink, Try push me over.
I have lost count of the times I need a single thing and find that the only way is to buy a whole set.
Might come in handy for the odd figure as well as custom car/truck/boat parts.

 

[Tworrs]

I'm in the front row Gary, watching and drooling. OK the drooling might just be old age

 

[Andy T]

I was on the fence / gathering funds for a long time, I just bit the bullet.
If I can beat it into submission ( really just a temperature problem )

That's another thing that's holding me back.

With temperatures in my shed varying wildly it's hard enough being consistent with paint, never mind resin!

 

[Dave Ward]

Gary,
I'll follow you with interest. to see how your resin printing pans out, from a first timers' perspective. Definitely the way to go, FDM has its' place, but SLA is the future!
Dave

 

[Neil Merryweather]

You'll be fine, Gary. It's definitely time for you to put your theoretical knowledge into practice. I am very grateful for your tips on fine-tuning my resin settings on the flame thrower.
I've printed way more stuff for myself than I thought I would,and surprised myself at some of the things I have created - 1-32 scale Napoleonic hobnail boot soles and shakos for instance Here
And I've been making some pocket money printing 1-87 stowage accessories for my forum friends across the pond , amongst other things.
As I'm sure you know,there's loads of stuff available online for 1-35 German armour, and fantasy figures especially, I don't know if that's your bag?
Good luck
N

 

[Andy the Sheep]

I'll follow your adventure in SLA/MSLA 3D printing with great interest even if the price and the environmental working conditions for those machines and my complete ignorance of the CAD world are still keeping me skeptic about my possibility to make the big step.

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

Gary,
I'll follow you with interest. to see how your resin printing pans out, from a first timers' perspective. Definitely the way to go, FDM has its' place, but SLA is the future!
Dave

I have seen some absolutely stunning FDM prints , it again is down to the exact perfection of timing, temp, nozzle size , speed of extrusion and cooling , some of the stuff coming off Elegoo Neptune 4's is truly stunning for a .8 nozzle size.
FDM is definitely the less worrying when it comes to smells and chems , but be aware that some of the filaments can give off some nasty chems.
Its going to be a slow process at my end until I have the setup working, I have ordered some other things to help improve what I want to do , but not due till almost end of week.
I like the idea of a FDM printer for some structural pieces I want to make, as filament is a lot stronger than resin ( for the price ) I found a lovely strong resin @ £99.00 a litre

 

[Dave Ward]

some of the filaments can give off some nasty chems.

I'm only using PLA at the moment, although I have flirted with PETG & TPU - I;m certainly not going for ABS, or those which need higher temperatures ( and give off fumes ) It'll be intersting to see how long the litre of resin lasts - at the moment I'm paying £12.99 delivered for a 1kg spool of PLA ( 330m ). There's no real way of cost comparison, but a 1/350 Ironclad warship takes about 65m of filament, which puts the cost at just over £2.50. - and about 15 hours printing! You can pick up cheap FDM printers on ebay - it seems that people are selling off their old gear as they move to resin. - An Ender-3 or clone of, would be good for occasional structural prints, as long as speed isn't a factor & you don't need touch screens or wi-fi etc
Dave

 

[JR]

You'll be fine, Gary. It's definitely time for you to put your theoretical knowledge into practice. I am very grateful for your tips on fine-tuning my resin settings on the flame thrower.
I've printed way more stuff for myself than I thought I would,and surprised myself at some of the things I have created - 1-32 scale Napoleonic hobnail boot soles and shakos for instance Here
And I've been making some pocket money printing 1-87 stowage accessories for my forum friends across the pond , amongst other things.
As I'm sure you know,there's loads of stuff available online for 1-35 German armour, and fantasy figures especially, I don't know if that's your bag?
Good luck
N

Flame thrower, ooh now I'm interested.


Sorry Garry for butting in .

Did anyone else see Pete Waterman's railway programme on last week. The part about the guy who did the resin printing was interesting, esp when he took the parts after washing in IPA it side and used the sun to harden them off .

 

[Andy T]

I haven't gotten around to watching that yet but it's common to give parts further curing after cleaning away excess resin.

I believe Gary has purchased a popular add-on gadget for that it the form of a wash & cure machine. A dual purpose bit of kit that cleans the parts in a tank, then converts to finish curing, normally by way of a turntable that rotates the piece in front of UV lights.

 

[Valeron]

I'll be following. I find all this new stuff fascinating

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

If you don't cure them I haven't gotten around to watching that yet but it's common to give parts further curing after cleaning away excess resin.

I believe Gary has purchased a popular add-on gadget for that it the form of a wash & cure machine. A dual purpose bit of kit that cleans the parts in a tank, then converts to finish curing, normally by way of a turntable that rotates the piece in front of UV lights.

If you don't cure after printing you end up with a part that will be weird texture , not nice on hands ( contact dermatitis probably ) , no way will you be able to paint it or want to do anything with it.
The only things most people don't cure are the test prints as they are testing the ability to get the resin to form the shapes you want , curing isn't important till that is conquered

Flame thrower, ooh now I'm interested.


Sorry Garry for butting in .

Did anyone else see Pete Waterman's railway programme on last week. The part about the guy who did the resin printing was interesting, esp when he took the parts after washing in IPA it side and used the sun to harden them off .

Must try and catch up with it , there is a young railway guy on youtube that has started printing kits and releasing the printed models to sell in limited numbers.

 

[JR]

I haven't gotten around to watching that yet but it's common to give parts further curing after cleaning away excess resin.

I believe Gary has purchased a popular add-on gadget for that it the form of a wash & cure machine. A dual purpose bit of kit that cleans the parts in a tank, then converts to finish curing, normally by way of a turntable that rotates the piece in front of UV lights.

If you don't cure after printing you end up with a part that will be weird texture , not nice on hands ( contact dermatitis probably ) , no way will you be able to paint it or want to do anything with it.
The only things most people don't cure are the test prints as they are testing the ability to get the resin to form the shapes you want , curing isn't important till that is conquered


Must try and catch up with it , there is a young railway guy on youtube that has started printing kits and releasing the printed models to sell in limited numbers.

Its worth watching just for the resin part and the laser cutting of the buildings .Doesn't go into much depth but was interesting.

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

Just watched it John, not as annoying as the ''hornby'' tv show , but not enough info to wet peoples appetite.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Hi Gary, may I offer some advice, having played with mine for 18 months now (settle down, rabble!)?

1. have a dedicated work area covered with a plastic sheet .It will get sticky very quickly and it's easier to clean or replace. You will need space to work around the machines-including somewhere to put the lids while you're doing stuff in the printer
2. you've already mentioned gloves, but you should wear them for every operation-except touching the memory stick. always remove them before you go to the pc or your pc will soon get sticky. LIGHT BULB MOMENT! I've just realised that must be the benefit of having a wi-fi connection(which I don't have on my machine)
3. when your first batch of IPA gets a bit too murky to properly clean the models, don't bin it straight away, put it in another container and use it as a rinse stage , which will prolong the life of the IPA in the wash and cure station
4. You will need a BIG roll of paper wipes - always cure my used wipes for 5 mins in the UV before binning them-we don't want uncured resin going into land fill
5. I also have a tub of IPA wipes for cleaning hands and tools(I originally used the IPA from the wash station and it doesn't work because it's already contaminated with resin ,DOH!)
6. get a pair of magnetic build plates. The plate makes it much easier to remove your prints, and having two means you can start the next print straight away

that's all I can think of for now- good luck
Neil