3d printing process

[CDW]

EG

How long did it take to print the Klingon ship?

[Haze Gray]

Looks fantastic! I love the old star trek ships!

[Egilman]

Last set of pics for test print #2.... Cured and removed from it's supports....

 

At this point she needs a bit of cleaning and then a primer coat... then we can see the details....

 

Tell me what you all think..

 

Until then....

 

EG

[Egilman]

33 minutes ago, CDW said:

EG

How long did it take to print the Klingon ship?

That took nine and a half hours Craig.... I had to slow down the lifts, at stock settings it would have taken 4 hrs, but it was causing the print to fail...

 

The 200% one I'm currently printing says 18 hrs estimated.... at my current settings....

[Egilman]

18 minutes ago, Haze Gray said:

Looks fantastic! I love the old star trek ships!

Thanks Neal, 

 

Yeah I kinda like them as well, fandom and gamers have blown out the genre though, I prefer the TOS and some of the TNG ships....

 

I'm not much for the little fighters, I like the battleships and cruisers...

 

And thanks again for your help.....

[henrythestaffy]

EG,

        I had a look at the link for the model and it would seem that there are a number of problems as you say. Are you printing the remixed version or the original? The remixed version is claiming to have fixed the issues with the original version.

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, henrythestaffy said:

EG,

        I had a look at the link for the model and it would seem that there are a number of problems as you say. Are you printing the remixed version or the original? The remixed version is claiming to have fixed the issues with the original version.

Henry, I've tried them all, they all show, well, most show the same errors even the remixed versions which I didn't know about until I found that it was up on both Thingy and Cults...

What they were fixing is the launch ports along the side of the outriggers for the vipers, the alignment of the outriggers and some panels along the sides of the engine section, they weren't really fixing the mesh itself... Mostly cause they didn't have to, the resolution available to FDM printers is four times less than to an SLA printer.... (but then you know that already)

 

My conclusion is to redraw it so it works for an SLA printer, a printer that can take advantage of all that detail..... (maybe I'll repost it as well) {chuckle}

[Jasseji]

11 hours ago, Egilman said:

Last set of pics for test print #2.... Cured and removed from it's supports....

 

At this point she needs a bit of cleaning and then a primer coat... then we can see the details....

 

Tell me what you all think..

 

Until then....

 

EG

Qa'pla

[lmagna]

Now you went and done it!

 

First the TOS Battlestar Galactica, and what appears to be the more accurate Mobius version to boot then I look and the same guy makes the Rodger Young available as well. Not a super fan of the movie but the book was a long time childhood favorite. 

[Egilman]

8 hours ago, Jasseji said:

Qa'pla

tlhIngan voDleH deHqu' vIHoHqang, pagh tlhIngan voDleHba'.

[Egilman]

29 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Now you went and done it!

 

First the TOS Battlestar Galactica, and what appears to be the more accurate Mobius version to boot then I look and the same guy makes the Rodger Young available as well. Not a super fan of the movie but the book was a long time childhood favorite. 

Well, somebody had to brother.... In todays world if it ain't all sleek and aerodynamic it isn't a spacecraft....  and the original Galactica at 4150 feet is a very impressive bird...... if you dig into the mesh, it shows every turbo laser turret, that's the level of detail on it.... It's worth rebuilding into a proper mesh.... AS far as Starship Troopers go I'm not a big fan of the franchise either... but having a model of the ship, well interesting to see it in 3D.....

[Jasseji]

We prepared a Dedicated space in the Attic for the Printer:

 

Unfortunately, the Resin wasnt delivered so i ordered Water-Washable Resin from Amazon (only one available short notice in the area and there is no IPA available here in larger quantities so decided we will give it a try)

Edited September 30, 2021 by Jasseji

[Egilman]

13 minutes ago, Jasseji said:

Unfortunately, the Resin wasnt delivered

What they did was sent it in three shipments, the Printer and Wash & Cure was shipped out of Chino CA. and the Resin was shipped out of New Jersey, all in separate packages...

 

The resin will arrive in a few days, they do have a tracking number for the resin shipment but the shipper doesn't send it to you... I got the tracking number by complaining to Anycubic on their website contact form about them not delivering the resin.... I did the same thing and ordered a replacement from amazon as well.... They didn't respond for three days cause of a Chinese holiday they were observing..... The two shipments of resin arrived on the same day....

 

You would think they would get a clue...... But it was my only complaint.... It will arrive in a couple of days.....

 

Nice setup.....

Edited September 30, 2021 by Egilman

[Jasseji]

5 hours ago, Egilman said:

What they did was sent it in three shipments, the Printer and Wash & Cure was shipped out of Chino CA. and the Resin was shipped out of New Jersey, all in separate packages...

 

The resin will arrive in a few days, they do have a tracking number for the resin shipment but the shipper doesn't send it to you... I got the tracking number by complaining to Anycubic on their website contact form about them not delivering the resin.... I did the same thing and ordered a replacement from amazon as well.... They didn't respond for three days cause of a Chinese holiday they were observing..... The two shipments of resin arrived on the same day....

 

You would think they would get a clue...... But it was my only complaint.... It will arrive in a couple of days.....

 

Nice setup.....

Thanks, we have an attic Space which the previous owner converted to living area for one of his Kids, so we have extra Space for a "smelly machines" room (and another room for the admirals gym + a small bathroom) 

[Jasseji]

So, first Test-Print failed, luckily i went and checked - the base layers stuck to the Build plate correctly but the next didnt - they stuck to the FEP Film instead...

 

Propably (Hopefully) due to the Fact that i am using another Resin - ELEGOO Water Washable, i loaded now the RERF File and will see what the result will be 

[Jasseji]

Resin Calibration is the key... 2hours into the print on 2nd try, this time 2.4s exposure:

[Jasseji]

Success 

 

[Jasseji]

5hours print of 3 items at once, parrial success 

 

 

The miniature and heart printed perfectly, on the Voyager model the Supports detached from the hull and this is what came out

 

 

[Egilman]

On 10/2/2021 at 9:26 AM, Jasseji said:

The miniature and heart printed perfectly, on the Voyager model the Supports detached from the hull and this is what came out

Yep. the Klingon Cruiser I was printing separated on one side from it's supports so I cut it off....

 

When I was taking it down to to clean it I noticed what looked like moisture underneath the resin vat... It was liquid but in cleaning it I found a miniscule spot of cured resin on the screen...

 

So, I've been waiting for the last few days for my screen protectors and spare FEP sheets to arrive.... They did today and are now installed.... (I replaced the FEP on the bottom of the vat just in case it was leaking, I didn't know for sure and sure didn't want to risk the screen)

 

Next step is a calibration print... RERF file just to check this thing....

 

EG

 

I would recommend a screen protector immediately, and extra FEP films..... I got mine both from Amazon....

I went with this recommendation on the screen protector... 

 

Amazon....

 

Supershields... 4 pack peel n stick, very easy to install and fit perfectly... covers everything including the kapton tape....

And

Colorbot FEP films.... Very easy to install......

 

Advice says that FEP film is a consumable item and should be kept in stock as you will never know when you will need one... The people I've chatted with say they can last as few as five prints to as long 25 prints... One thing for sure, you WILL be replacing them in the near future.... 

 

Stay well my friends...

 

EG

[Haze Gray]

So, funny thing happened,  after I got the Mono X printer setup I put on a screen protector  before trying any prints (scheduled for the next day) and, because it was late at night, I forgot to torque down the vat screws.... next day I pour in the resin for the first print and hit go....bed comes down...a little bit of suction and up the vat goes but I grab it and pull it out and away thinking "that was an awesome save"..... then I saw shower of resin coming down off the build plate onto the LCD.....a few expletive's ran though my mind before I remembered  the screen protector was on there.  totally worked, totally saved my butt...

 

Honestly I think cling/saran wrap might do just as well - more likely it will stick to the glass than to the FEP - either way if you're clumsy like me make sure you have that LCD protected. 

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, Haze Gray said:

....bed comes down...a little bit of suction and up the vat goes but I grab it and pull it out and away thinking "that was an awesome save"..... then I saw shower of resin coming down off the build plate onto the LCD.....a few expletive's ran though my mind

Heart-Attack city brother!!!! {chuckle} and one heck of a mess.....

 

Protect those screens my friends.... you never know...... A $5 screen protector - vs - $180 screen....

[Egilman]

Currently running my third print test, with the new setting.... 23% done.....

 

This is a 200% print, twice as large as the native print.... Should be 8.375" tall and 6" wide, 1/1000 scale... So far no issues and although I might be jinxing this, it currently looking good.... no sticking issues.... (so far) I could probably print it larger, but it would need to be split into separate parts... Maximum size would be 225% enlargement.....

 

I'll take a pic of the actual printer when it get far enough out of the vat to see what it is....

 

EG

Edited October 4, 2021 by Egilman

[Haze Gray]

1 hour ago, Egilman said:

... So far no issues and although I might be jinxing this, it currently looking good....

 

Yeah, you probably just jinxed yourself!  😃

[Egilman]

Ok 33% done... No jinx yet....

It's slowly turning out, still no sticking issues.... (finners still crossed) {chuckle}

[Egilman]

Ok, another update, now at 50%.....

 

But I did have a problem that I experienced before,.... Along about 47-8%, it started thumping again, very mild, but very perceptible... I was paying attention to this as I think it has something to do with the amount of resin in the vat.... So, when the thump started to be accompanied by a jiggle in the resin in the vat on the thump, I decided it was time to do something.... (the jiggle I'm talking about is like the scene in Jurassic Park, the water in the plastic cup jiggling when the T-Rex takes a step, you know, muffled boom/jiggle, muffled  boom/jiggle) 

 

Back when I had a complete print failure it sounded like someone was using the vat for a drumhead and I speculated that low resin level in the vat was a contributing factor... Well, the action I took was to fill the vat back up with resin to the vat full line.... 

 

Guess what happened?

 

After printing a couple of layers after the refill, the thump/jiggle went away... so my conclusion is that resin level in the the vat has a lot to do with a successful print, especially a large one like this one...... Right now it's running smoothly not a hint of sticking after that short episode and all I did was refill the vat.... The weight of the resin helps to stabilize the FEP film helping layer separation is my analysis...

 

Keep your resin vats full my friends for best results....

 

EG

Edited October 5, 2021 by Egilman

[Haze Gray]

Humm - it always worries me when I don't hear a mild to medium thump - but you're probably right - really loud thump = low resin,  pour in resin and you deaden the sound....  

[mtaylor]

Fascinating stuff on these printers.  It's voodoo to me but I guess time to start reading up a bit.

[Jasseji]

Now i need to re-slice the Voyager and scale it back to original stl size but i need time over the weekend for the print - my problem is that the printer is in the attic, which is basically another apartment above ours (with separate door) so i cant just casually check up on it while doing other stuff.

 

It's not a problem to go up, but when i go back down i somehow cant focus on other tasks bc i'm nervous something will go wrong

[Haze Gray]

Jasseji ,   have you thought about setting up a camera up there?   If you have a rasberry Pi and a webcam there's a couple of programs (like Octoprint that's used for driving 3d printers and even slicing for prints + cam or time lapse) that would give you some piece of mind - you can access the rasberry pi via wifi on your phone.  

[thibaultron]

How do you refill the vat in the middle of a print, so as to not affect the print?