Welcome to the forum   
Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Icon
Error

Share
Options
View
Go to last post in this topic Go to first unread post in this topic
Offline Big AL  
#1 Posted : 07 November 2020 13:35:24(UTC)
Big AL

United Kingdom   
Joined: 25/10/2020(UTC)
Posts: 55
Location: Scotland, Glasgow
I had a go at printing some Z-Scale figures with reasonable success

IMG_0470.JPEG

They printed perfectly with the exception of the very thin forearms of one model out of the four as shown by the red arrow.

Here they are displayed beside a painted Faller figure for comparison.

If you have access to a 3D SLA printer I think this is a viable way to go. You only need a few basic IT skills, no need for artistic ability or CAM experience.

The two free programs you need in the software toolchain are:

1. Make Human, http://www.makehumancommunity.org/ An Open Source modelling program that requires next to no artistic or technical skill to use. Basically pick a figure, dress it and pose it. From which you export an STL model.

2. MeshMixer, https://www.meshmixer.com/ A free AutoDesk application where you will scale the model correctly and optionally make changes, or fix problems.

3. You slicing software of choice. In my case AnyCubic Slicer.

My printer is an Anycubic Photon with all the default settings and Anycubic Basic Grey resin.
thanks 3 users liked this useful post by Big AL
Offline DaleSchultz  
#2 Posted : 07 November 2020 14:30:40(UTC)
DaleSchultz

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2006(UTC)
Posts: 3,997

sounds good, I recently got the same printer and my first three tests all failed. I cant get the model to stick to the platform. Did you have any issues there?
Dale
Intellibox + own software, K-Track
My current layout: https://cabin-layout.mixmox.com
Arrival and Departure signs: https://remotesign.mixmox.com
Offline Big AL  
#3 Posted : 07 November 2020 15:07:46(UTC)
Big AL

United Kingdom   
Joined: 25/10/2020(UTC)
Posts: 55
Location: Scotland, Glasgow
Originally Posted by: DaleSchultz Go to Quoted Post

sounds good, I recently got the same printer and my first three tests all failed. I cant get the model to stick to the platform. Did you have any issues there?


Dale, what you are describing is my major frustration with 3D SLA printing. The answer is simple but frustratingly difficult to replicate due to the extremely small tolerances involved. The answer is print bed/print plate levelling. You need to follow the instructions to the letter and then its not a guaranteed success.

I use the copier paper method. Without the resin vat installed the print plate should be Z axis zeroed directly on the screen with a single piece of copier paper between the screen and the print plate. The paper should be possible to withdraw but impossible to push back in.

It is a bit more nuanced than I am describing here, but this Youtube video covers the critical nuance perfectly.



Good luck.



thanks 1 user liked this useful post by Big AL
Offline Poor Skeleton  
#4 Posted : 07 November 2020 15:59:11(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: Big AL Go to Quoted Post
My printer is an Anycubic Photon with all the default settings and Anycubic Basic Grey resin.


Am I correct in thinking that, once printed, the item has to be UV cured? Do you need extra kit to do that? Is there a lot of maintenance involved with one of these printers? I'm quite tempted, but I don't want to be forever cleaning, adjusting and tuning, which was how my brief dalliance with filament printing turned out!

Cheers


Chris
Offline Big AL  
#5 Posted : 07 November 2020 16:30:18(UTC)
Big AL

United Kingdom   
Joined: 25/10/2020(UTC)
Posts: 55
Location: Scotland, Glasgow
Originally Posted by: Poor Skeleton Go to Quoted Post


Am I correct in thinking that, once printed, the item has to be UV cured? Do you need extra kit to do that? Is there a lot of maintenance involved with one of these printers? I'm quite tempted, but I don't want to be forever cleaning, adjusting and tuning, which was how my brief dalliance with filament printing turned out!

Cheers


Chris


Hi Chris, The printer actually does the curing itself. The LCD display in the printer is backlit with UV LEDs. I do have a UV torch and also a UV nail manicure lamp for post-print curing but to be honest, if you wash the print carefully to remove all the uncured resin then there is no need to post cure. Also some time on a windowsill will do the same job of post-curing if it is a concern. Long story short, I rarely post cure a print and often go straight to painting right after the last of the wash alcohol has evaporated. Of the two tools I have to do the post-curing the UV torch is by far the most useful. It was a tenner from Amazon. I just wave it around the printed part for a minute or two to post-cure.

There is a lot of cleaning, not much in the way of adjusting apart from the print plate levelling. You need a lot of Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning and washing the printed parts and rubber gloves for handling. Both the resin and the alcohol stink a bit, so you wouldn't want to do this on the dining table, but a hobby room is fine, for me anyway. I don't get the sense of handling Novichok whilst working with the resin, but I wouldn't put it on a sandwich either.

The big benefit of resin printing is the ability to print items with extreme fidelity that I could not otherwise create in any other way. I also have an FDM printer (Creality CR-10) and a CNC router (self-built), and I would say that neither is comparable in terms of experience or utility to SLA printing. For me it would be like comparing a table saw to a bandsaw. On paper they both cut wood, but how you use them and what you can produce is very different.

Personally I think there are more upsides to downsides and you can minimise the downsides a fair bit. For example I tend to go through periods where I use the printer a lot then not at all. Currently I am using it a lot, so I am not cleaning it. I will clean it when I am done with my current printing projects. The cleaning will take me ten minutes at most.

I think you are looking at £200-ish for an entry level printer like mine. It usually comes with a starter bottle of resin and full bottles of resin can be bought on Amazon for around 20 quid. I also bought three, one litre bottles of Isopropyl alcohol for around a tenner from Amazon. So you could probably have all you need to do quite a bit of printing for <£300.

I have an Anycubic Photon but the Elegoo Mars also has a good rep as an entry level printer.

If like me your better half is always asking what they should get you for Christmas, this might be a way to kill to birds with one stone?








Offline Poor Skeleton  
#6 Posted : 07 November 2020 17:04:53(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: Big AL Go to Quoted Post


Hi Chris, The printer actually does the curing itself. The LCD display in the printer is backlit with UV LEDs. I do have a UV torch and also a UV nail manicure lamp for post-print curing but to be honest, if you wash the print carefully to remove all the uncured resin then there is no need to post cure. Also some time on a windowsill will do the same job of post-curing if it is a concern. Long story short, I rarely post cure a print and often go straight to painting right after the last of the wash alcohol has evaporated. Of the two tools I have to do the post-curing the UV torch is by far the most useful. It was a tenner from Amazon. I just wave it around the printed part for a minute or two to post-cure.

There is a lot of cleaning, not much in the way of adjusting apart from the print plate levelling. You need a lot of Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning and washing the printed parts and rubber gloves for handling. Both the resin and the alcohol stink a bit, so you wouldn't want to do this on the dining table, but a hobby room is fine, for me anyway. I don't get the sense of handling Novichok whilst working with the resin, but I wouldn't put it on a sandwich either.?


Thanks for that really useful information and advice. As I've said before, by friend has an SLA and has printed some items for me with which I've been very happy. I would like some degree of printing independence, though, if only to satisfy my impatience!

Quote:
If like me your better half is always asking what they should get you for Christmas, this might be a way to kill to birds with one stone?


Funnily enough, that was exactly what was going through my mind!

Cheers


Chris








Offline Big AL  
#7 Posted : 07 November 2020 17:09:47(UTC)
Big AL

United Kingdom   
Joined: 25/10/2020(UTC)
Posts: 55
Location: Scotland, Glasgow
IMG_0472.JPEG

"Who parked this bloody car here? And you, put on some clothes you are making me cold just looking at you!"

Preiser figure on left, my three 3D printed ones on the right.
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by Big AL
Offline Poor Skeleton  
#8 Posted : 07 November 2020 21:14:21(UTC)
Poor Skeleton

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC)
Posts: 550
Location: England, Cambridge
Originally Posted by: Big AL Go to Quoted Post
IMG_0472.JPEG

"Who parked this bloody car here? And you, put on some clothes you are making me cold just looking at you!"

Preiser figure on left, my three 3D printed ones on the right.


Haha! Love it!
Offline DaleSchultz  
#9 Posted : 07 November 2020 21:31:29(UTC)
DaleSchultz

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2006(UTC)
Posts: 3,997
yes, I have taken extreme care at getting the platform levelled, machine is level, room is warm, warmed the resin beforehand.
Tried both methods of adjusting the Z=0 position (paper and on the FEP)

I'll keep trying - thanks
Dale
Intellibox + own software, K-Track
My current layout: https://cabin-layout.mixmox.com
Arrival and Departure signs: https://remotesign.mixmox.com
Users browsing this topic
Forum Jump  
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.

| Powered by YAF.NET | YAF.NET © 2003-2024, Yet Another Forum.NET
This page was generated in 0.416 seconds.