UPDATE: At one point i mention washing water soluble resin in the SINK, I misspoke and didn't catch it, please don't actually wash it in a sink, your still working with uncured resin, you just can avoid ISO use with it.
Something else to take into account with water washable resin. Any water that comes in contact with the resin becomes toxic. You said you can wash it in the sink but you gotta make sure this sink does not drain into a sewer. You gotta dispose that water as hazardous waste, just like the ISO. So there really isn't extra convenience to water washable, you just don't spend money on ISO.
@@gerthalberg9735 Sorry I should have said it's so you can reuse the iso, there's some videos on UA-cam if you look up something like recycling or reusing iso. The water even if the resin is cured still should be disposed of and not poured down the drain as there will always be some residuals.
I heard somewhere that an option was to buy a large cooking sheet and pour the contaminated iso/water on it and let the iso/water evaporate and then the sun would cure the resin making it non toxic.
@MrBassard yeah you can do that but it is much easier to do with iso vs water since water would take muuuuuch longer to evaporate. You also gotta worry about wildlife drinking that water while you leave it outside in the sun.
You make it sound so difficult. I took up the hobby and bought my first resin printer at Christmas. Once you get the settings right for your needs,it's brilliant. I print minis for table top gaming. Washing takes 5 minutes in the wash and cure, one minute in warm water to help remove the prints, then 4 minutes in the uv curing station. After a 14hr 0.02 thickness sliced print, what's another ten minutes 😎
@@Mike-ok1cq oh don't get me wrong, those are the biggest models I've done. My usual minis for our gaming are about 6 hrs. Remember that while a single wing of my largest dragon does take 12 hours, I can print 12 skeletons in about 2 hrs
You can also buy cheap 10 inch wide shower squeegees for like $1 each that are such cheap plastic you can cut them with scissors down to the width of your vat. Had the silicone edge and makes for a nice single swipe clean out.
One important fact that I think you missed out is you can't throw uncured resin out in the trash so what do you do with the dirty paper towels or the supports removed before curing. same goes fpr the old iso used for cleaning and that can't go down the drain like most people new people would do. Not sure if this is the same for every country, but this is the case for me in the uk and I think could catch a lot of new people out.
Stupid idea probably but... why not pour it out on a giant tray and leave it in the sun. The alcohol will evaporate right? and the resin will cure. HaxPotato in the comments below had a better idea (in case you missed his comment) "Dirty ISO can be left in uv to cure all the resin left inside. It can then be filtered and reused."
@@atnfn Some people filter it and others let it settle and then use the uv to cure into clumps. I bet many people forget about the paper towels after cleanup, I know I did the first time.
This was the perfect summary of my experience. Love the results and what it can do but doesn’t really fit into my style of printing as I am more functional parts than anything else.
One thing you missed is filtering your resin. Don't just poor the resin back into the bottle. For any complex model, there will always be tiny bits of partially cured resin that fall off. You can minimise this by being very careful with support placement, but you're unlikely to catch 100% of the unsupported regions, especially those which are internal to the piece. I filter both when returning the resin to the bottle, and when filling the tank from the bottle. After filling the tank, I leave time for it to settle, then before each print, I slowly run the scraper across the film, so any grit from the last job, or any that got through the filter is moved to the edges. If you don't do this, you'll get failed prints, because the grit means the build plate can't get close enough to the film to ensure a properly connected first layer. If you don't catch failed prints quickly, there will be an awful lot of wasted resin, so it pays to keep an eye on them. It's a bit of a faff, but it hurts less than a failed print, and the filters are cheap compared with the cost of the resin that a failed print will consume. It does stink. I use mine in a spare room which has the window open, and the door closed, and I don't use it when the wind is blowing towards that side of the house, otherwise the wind would only push the fumes into the house. Even with those precautions, the smell still fills the house. Whilst in the room, I always wear a 3M mask with VOC filters. If I didn't, I'd have a really bad headache.
I have an N scale model RR and bought an Anycubic Mono 4k with a wash and cure on sale. I also am no cool with removing the entire shield. I printed (on my FDM) a couple of knobs to attach to the top so I could remove with one hand. Printer is fine and I love the details, the Slicers/supports/etc are a big learning curve for me compared to FDM.
Nero dude. seriously. you are an amazing communicator. you've turned this review into a very easy to understand resin print introduction. r8ing 8/8 m8 g8
Thank you, researching the resin and filament printers, I use 2 part resin in art so I know that drill and clean up, your showing the close up of models sold me lol what I need is not something I want to clean up filament surfaces lol
I personally only print in resin when I have a paid job that REQUIRES resin. Either the resolution of details or the material requirements dictate it. I personally don't enjoy resin printing for the reasons you outlined in your video. Thanks again for the great video!
Love the models they can produce (balrog baby!) and I've continually toyed with getting into resin, but the smell, mess, post processing and toxicity always put off for me and so after getting teased with the cheap prices on them these days, window shopping on the net for an hour, adding up all the extras, I then cancel everything an go back to my FDM. Maybe next time I'll pull the trigger. ;)
I was in the same boat, except, I did purchase everything. Even taking all the precautions I really underestimated the smell. Even tried to make a DIY fume hood from grow tent, but its so much hastle to print anything, if you want to properly dispose all the things that touched resin. So it sat for a year without any use until I sold it.
PrusaSlicer is capable of resin slicing, and UVtools has reverse engineered many of the proprietary formats. It's a multistep process, but definitely possible to do high quality open source slicing.
Removing the supports before wash is a great way to get tiny drops of resin everywhere as you're snapping them off. Wash the model with supports (preferably still on the bed), rinse in warm water, remove supports. I get that you're trying to save the ISO but it's not worth it. Also, maybe add a small lunch tray to the list of additional tools. They're thin and sturdy for sliding between the printed model and the vat then just keep it under the model as you remove the build plate to move it to the wash station.
Also, make sure the return vent for your AC is not anywhere near your resin printer. I set mine up in the basement and quickly discovered that we have a second return vent in the basement. Took most of a day to get the smell out of every room in the house . . .
I find resin interesting but I generally need size and mechanical properties more than extreme detail. Besides, resin in a small apartment just sounds like a nightmare.
I only got into resin printing because the people I worked with were really into Warhammer and they would pay me stupid money for batches of figurines for them to paint.
@@HR-yd5ib I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that it would blind you, have you seen the burns people got when they spill it on themselves?
Alot of the people I talk to do either fdm or both. Not many exclusively do resin. If you do table top games you need both resin for minis and fdm for map structure
I was printing on a v2.4, then sold it and bought saturn 2 and now printing exclusively on it. The reason is simple, I mainly print stand figurines that I paint, in this scenario I dont really need an fdm machine.
unlike your regular FDM printer, you gotta level the bed manually, stir the resin and stuff that makes it so you HAVE to be at the printer anyway so having wifi is not a necessity and mostly used to monitor the printer's status
I must have a smelling problem, as I don't smell a thing when I use resin, its' been really worrying me because everyone goes on and on about it but I don't experience that.
I bought a resin printer and all the accompanying gear several months ago, and … I have yet to print anything for all the reasons you cited. When I really need some object that I can only achieve with resin, I will finally use it. Anyway, after looking at all the options I did get an AnyCubic printer, so I am sure it will be a good experience overall (or at least as good as a resin printing experience can be). Thanks for the thorough review of the whole shebang.
Couple notes on water washable resin and handling prints. Just because it's water washable, doesn't mean it's safe to dump down the drain, it's almost more of a pain than IPA, benefit is no ipa smells and headaches. Resin, even cured, isn't 100% safe to handle, because it's brittle rubbing your hands and nails on it can pull off surface microplastic dust which is nasty stuff. It's fine for display and handle occasionally, but I would say not make a face mask and wear it unless it's primed and painted.
Ome thing to add: many resins are very brittle when printed. It's very easy to accidentally snap off small details like an arrow, or a nose, or a leaf, even an arm. So if you get the weaker resins: be very careful when handling the cured print. I personally use ABS like resin. Lastly: painting. Use a good primer, use thin acrylic paints, but most importantly when you're done painting your model seal with a UV protective clear coat sealer. If you let your models get exposed to more UV, they will discolor, paint will peel, and they will become more brittle.
I love resin printing, but I feel compared to filament based it's more of a niche, at least with the hobby overall. For those like me who paint miniatures, a resin printer is oh so invaluable, because it lets me print things that traditional miniature companies either won't touch due to perceived lack of ability to recoup their investment, or because their manufacturing methods just can't do it without super complicated molds (or breaking it into six billion parts). I personally love my resin printer, even though it's a royal pain to get things out of, simply because of all the extra work involved, and how I'm swapping over to having two separate curing machines so that I can have a "dirty" tank and a "clean" tank of isopropyl. Reason for that is trying to filter the resin out of 6L of isopropyl is an interesting endeavour, so with a second smaller machine it would be a lot easier to follow a process I do with my painting water (aka transfer it into smallish containers, let it settle for a few days, then in this case either go directly for curing it, or skim the cleaner stuff off the top and then run what's left through a curing cycle). But yeah, dealing with disposal of contaminated isopropyl is a "fun" thing because there isn't exactly an easy process to do this, as it requires a trip to a waste disposal facility, and containers to safely carry it to said disposal site.... Hence why I'm looking at ways of hopefully being able to just outright cure it into blocks, and then dispose of the now non-liquid and cured excess resin through more traditional means. Editing to add... Got any leads for a resin mat like the one you've got? Such seems like it would be a lot nicer than the current silicon baking dishes I picked up from Canadian Tire...
Very informative and quality video. Thank you, i'm waiting for my x2 arive so i can try to print. But, i struggle to find some usefull info about printing very small pieces, mostly how to clean them, how to cure them, i ordered wash and cure also, but, every information is about larger pieces or models, what about very small (few mm, 1cm) pieces? wash station is uselles in that case, so, what is left, some jar with ipa, or? Also, placement of printer, is there any harm if it's next to window (no direct sunlight)? After printing, i clean printer, and it wait for next one, i dont plan to print every day?
Hey Nero ! Have you seen The Prometheus MSLA :) ? It's the first MSLA 3D printer that is 100% open source. It's like the Voron of resin because you build it yourself :O !
3D printing isn't a hobby for me. It's one of my tools for other hobbies. I use my printers for model railways, and locomotives, rolling stock and figures printed using FDM usually look awful, but in resin they can be great. I'm currently doing test prints using FDM, with the aim of producing the finished models in resin, so aim to minimise the use of my resin printer to cut down on all the nasty stuff. I've got a dedicated room for all my CNC machines (got a laser and router too), and want to get the machines that produce nasty fumes and smoke properly vented to outside before using them much. I also want to get a well organised resin setup, so I can do all the messy stuff quickly, cleanly, efficiently and safely
For functional parts I mostly use FDM, but if I can't get away from needing weird geometry that would require unreasonable amounts of support or has a lot of small features I switch to resin. For miniatures and models I pretty much only use resin. Both have good applications.
its strange that Resin is not more open with regard to slicing, You would think since they are all using screens or even DLP both are derived from video technology meaning odds are the slice output is a B&W image put on the screen or projected by the DLP that the data structure of that could be universal like gcode.
I appreciate the mentioning of slicer programs as very few YT channels address slicers when doing reviews of 3d resin printers. One of the lingering questions I have is what would the requirements be to operate a slicer program properly? My home computer is a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 and I'm older than dust lol (born in 1955). So I'm unsure if it will be adequate to operate a slicer program or not.
That sounds like an old machine. I would go into best buy and tell them you want a gaming capable computer. Expect to spend anywhere from $600 for a budget machine to around $2000 for top-end. But generally speaking slicers use the CPU heavily. So I would get a top end CPU in your machine. Intel I-9 13 Gen.
I won't lie... This video scared me. My brother has gifted me his Anycubic PM X 2 - because it turns out he was allergic to the resin and was *very* poorly for a couple of weeks!!! ...Anyway, I am keen to try resin as small detail and texture is something I am keen to capture in some of my prints. BUT, I am hanging on to my Flashforge Adventurer 3 for all my other 3D jobs. I am now very nervus about setting up and using the Anycubic when it arrives!
I got a mars 3 it came with clippers 2 spatulas and a few gloves. I got some gloves from the store. I got 2 tupperware with ipa for a dirty and clean wash curing could be done by the sun but i got a box lined the inside with aluminum taoe and a string of uv lights. I use 3-4 sheets of paper towels per print i also keep an elegoo air purifier going when printing i keep my peinter in my front room by my computer. Not that big of a deal
I bought this printer a few weeks ago and I am struggling with any print that requires supports. Would you mind sharing your resin and support settings?
I'm looking at resin for miniature gaming content that I can't use FDM to print trying to find the best option atm looking at the mars 2 8k have u done a review on that 1?
Great video. Resin prints are amazing, but they have their own use case. Mostly, a FDM printer has more than enough detail for a typical print, but when you want to do the detailed stuff, you can't beat a resin printer. The small figures and parts for scale models use are really the bread and butter of resin printing. But the mess and handling of toxic stuff that's involved in resin printing is something you have to think about. I don't know if enclosing it in a cabinet with a active carbon fume extractor like a Voron would be sufficient. The other thing is the closed source nature of most of the resin printer market. When people scuff over the open vs closed source debate of Bambu vs Prusa in the FDM market, I encourage them to look at the situation with resin printers and the Chitu Jail you're in. Except the Prusa SL1S resin printer. That's open source and can be used with Prusa Slicer.
I was working in 3D printing company back in 2015 and we had custom made DLP printers that used projectors instead of screens. Only protection we used was gloves. I think all of the waste was goign to sink…. I was only software developer and made a slicer there and pretty much was breathing the resin 8h a day, so here goes my cancer in future. I can say that I’m suprised that there are not many resin slicers nowadays.
Have tried both ... will never go back to filament printing. The quality of resin printing is just not comparable. With the anycubic photon M5s you can print figures 1/72 and see all details. Even 1/300 returns meaningful results. Yes its a bit messy and smelly but really not all that bad. We have a shed in the garden so that makes things easier.
I like how "relatively simple"=something I've done before. Why else is replacing the weed eater string is considered easier than wiping down the vat and refilling it. Regardless, this is a helpful video!
Oh dear... at around 13:50 you say "some resins are water-soluable, you can wash them in a sink..." PLEASE people - ALL uncured resins are toxic to plant and animal life and not removed by water reclamation facilities. DO NOT put uncured or liquid resin down any drain going outside your home, even water-washable or "eco" resins. They are still toxic, with the only difference being where the polymers come from, but the UV activators will kill a boatload of fish in no time. Also, if you're on a septic system, you're only making yourself sick. Otherwise, enjoyable video. Thanks, Nero!
Very good video. One point you didn’t mention and it is the worst in my opinion in Resin prints is that they are very brittle to the point that they are impractical in a lot of cases.
The biggest issue with resin printers is this. How do you evacuate the gases ? And then there is all the mess, cleaning, post processing, safety equipment and so on. What about all those chemicals ? IPA is highly flammable and really bad for your health just like the resin is ? How do you store that crap ? You need a chem lab for that shit.
I'm interested in Resin but have no use for it. I use FDM for functional parts. My understanding is that resin should not be used for that and is best used for things like models.
Leave it in clear container in the sun, let it cure the resin, filter the resin out, reuse the iso. If you truly want to dispose of the iso, just leave it outside to evaporate and dispose of any leftover resin.
Its like airbrushing, you need to set up to vent the miasma that will kill you due to the activity. Its that simple. Solve that issue and you should be fine.
Never ever ever under any circumstances do you wash any uncured resin in your sink for any reason. The uncured resin is toxic and should be treated as such. Always treat resin as a hazardous material and dispose of properly.
Geez, even tho fdm is not void of all these tiny microsteps and materials needed to just START to print, and I do actually enjoy the challenge of everything involved to get to the start point, resin has something to me that really kills my interest in even attempting it. It seems this is the same for alot of us here commenters. All the power to you if resin printing is your main gig, I do think it is an amazing and unique and mind-blowing piece of technology, just not in my wheelhouse. Maybe someday, but keep on printing whatever format that is 👍
I bought my first resin printer two years ago and the original outgoings was expensive but i only now pay for cleaning alcohol about 4lts every 6 months a bottle of resin around 30 pounds and cheal cleaning wipes and even with all this i still have saved a fortune with the files that i have printed full armys and large statues. I also have two FDM printers and i prefer Resin for detail and FDM for 1 to 1 scale cosplay weapons or bases or large statue parts. The results i found is there is a outgoing cost with both types of hobbie and its up to the individual to make that decision not someone who is making a review of this machine for their channel you also didn't say that you have to print FDM filerment in a dry area with no windows open and you need to store the filerment in sealed airbags and some filerment you can only print in enclosed areas most modern printers come with built in extractor systems and are enclosed so to reduce the smell.
I tried ABS recently with mixed results. My first print was a success, after that everything was a disaster. I couldn't smell a thing at first, I thought everyone had been exaggerating, but then I noticed being near the printer for too long made me feel queasy. I'm used to strong organic solvents because I'm a tradie, so I guess I have been desensitized. One thing is for sure, I have enough experience with epoxy and polyester resin to know that I absolutely hate the stuff, especially polyester resin, that stuff is seriously vile.
The quality of resin cannot be matched, but the amount of hassle, consumables, and post processing needed to get the part really turns me off from trying it
It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. You do not spontaneously wilt and die when in the direct vicinity of liquid resin. Everyone treats it like nuclear waste. My issue is the auto supports do not work, you have just blast prints with your own.
@@davidharris5045 Of course it's not spontaneous that's rarely a concern it's more about toxic accumulation, chemical sensitivity and long term health risks that are an unknown at this point. I worry the people with a laissez-faire attitude towards resin are going to really regret it years down the line, I've already heard plenty of stories of people developing chemical sensitivity to the point they can't be around it all anymore, my attitude with anything toxic is better safe than sorry.
Been doing filament based printing for about 3 years now. Gave resin a try a few years ago and just found that unless I was going to run off a bunch of prints at once the post processing just wasn't worth it. I did print some amazing things with it but mostly found the effort involved deterred me from using it much.
Resin, IMHO, is extremely niche. I personally use my 3d prints for more engineering based tasks and not really for making trinkets and models (Except for Benchies, obviously). I find that I can very quickly and easily draft up a specific item that I need in Fusion360, slap it into cura, and just print. 2-30 hours later, my item is ready for use as soon as the print stops. When youre doing rapid prototyping and testing multiple designs back to back, all the extra steps required with resin just take up too much time and effort. Especially when the part needs to be tweaked in some way, and the print gets thrown away. Also, my models off the FDM machine do not randomly start leaking resin that was trapped in the print because of an improperly placed, or nonexistant drain hole.
Great video that confirmed the reasons I avoid resin printing. The detail is great, but One thing i'm surprised you didnt touch on: Resin printing really doesnt lend itself as well to functional and end use prints as FDM. Resin simply isnt as strong as even something like ABS; thats without even talking about higher end engineering materials/polymers and carbon/glass fibre loaded filaments. nowhere near the range of colours and other physical attributes, like flexible filaments etc.
Dust masks are useless because you need a gas mask to filter properly the toxic resin fumes. However their concentration is low so a well ventilated area and air filters should do the trick
So VOCs are not unique to Resin Printing so both Resin Printing and FDM printing require the same PPE or considerations when it comes to the lungs. Namely well ventilated area to flush out the area of VOCs if that is not available a respirator mask can help but long term exposure is still a problem so you need to keep it in an isolated area. And you definitely want to wear a mask that can filter out fine particulates when doing FDM. A lot of people seem to think that since FDM doesn't smell that it's safe. I really wish people would be as careful with FDM as they are with Resin because in a few years there are going to be a lot of people with lung problems from the particulates and VOCs form FDM because they do not take enough precaution. "3D Printing-Induced Fine Particle and Volatile Organic Compound Emission: An Emerging Health Risk" compiles data from a bunch of studies. And that Data shows FDM producing similar levels of VOCs as Resin while having particulates levels that are very high.
UPDATE:
At one point i mention washing water soluble resin in the SINK, I misspoke and didn't catch it, please don't actually wash it in a sink, your still working with uncured resin, you just can avoid ISO use with it.
Straight to mopp level 9 lmao
Something else to take into account with water washable resin. Any water that comes in contact with the resin becomes toxic. You said you can wash it in the sink but you gotta make sure this sink does not drain into a sewer. You gotta dispose that water as hazardous waste, just like the ISO. So there really isn't extra convenience to water washable, you just don't spend money on ISO.
and you can cure and filter the iso so it's not that bad in the long run.
@@thirtythreeeyes8624 Couldn't you also cure the water and filter it to just dispose of the residue? (I honestly don't know - just curious)
@@gerthalberg9735 Sorry I should have said it's so you can reuse the iso, there's some videos on UA-cam if you look up something like recycling or reusing iso. The water even if the resin is cured still should be disposed of and not poured down the drain as there will always be some residuals.
I heard somewhere that an option was to buy a large cooking sheet and pour the contaminated iso/water on it and let the iso/water evaporate and then the sun would cure the resin making it non toxic.
@MrBassard yeah you can do that but it is much easier to do with iso vs water since water would take muuuuuch longer to evaporate. You also gotta worry about wildlife drinking that water while you leave it outside in the sun.
You make it sound so difficult.
I took up the hobby and bought my first resin printer at Christmas.
Once you get the settings right for your needs,it's brilliant.
I print minis for table top gaming.
Washing takes 5 minutes in the wash and cure, one minute in warm water to help remove the prints, then 4 minutes in the uv curing station.
After a 14hr 0.02 thickness sliced print, what's another ten minutes 😎
It really can take up to 14 hours to print a miniature?
@@Mike-ok1cq I have a few that are multi parts that some sections can take that long.
@@SteveSearle that's crazy i'm looking into buying a 3d printer and had no idea it takes that long
@@Mike-ok1cq oh don't get me wrong, those are the biggest models I've done.
My usual minis for our gaming are about 6 hrs.
Remember that while a single wing of my largest dragon does take 12 hours, I can print 12 skeletons in about 2 hrs
ah ok, good to know thank you @@SteveSearle
Minor tip, silicone spatula for wiping resin into the bottle. Those plastic scrapers could damage the FEP.
You can also buy cheap 10 inch wide shower squeegees for like $1 each that are such cheap plastic you can cut them with scissors down to the width of your vat. Had the silicone edge and makes for a nice single swipe clean out.
One important fact that I think you missed out is you can't throw uncured resin out in the trash so what do you do with the dirty paper towels or the supports removed before curing. same goes fpr the old iso used for cleaning and that can't go down the drain like most people new people would do. Not sure if this is the same for every country, but this is the case for me in the uk and I think could catch a lot of new people out.
Stupid idea probably but... why not pour it out on a giant tray and leave it in the sun. The alcohol will evaporate right? and the resin will cure.
HaxPotato in the comments below had a better idea (in case you missed his comment) "Dirty ISO can be left in uv to cure all the resin left inside. It can then be filtered and reused."
@@atnfn Some people filter it and others let it settle and then use the uv to cure into clumps. I bet many people forget about the paper towels after cleanup, I know I did the first time.
Fire lighters....
Resin is easy yes. Just have a few extra precautions nothing else . Results are very satisfying.
This was the perfect summary of my experience. Love the results and what it can do but doesn’t really fit into my style of printing as I am more functional parts than anything else.
One thing you missed is filtering your resin. Don't just poor the resin back into the bottle. For any complex model, there will always be tiny bits of partially cured resin that fall off. You can minimise this by being very careful with support placement, but you're unlikely to catch 100% of the unsupported regions, especially those which are internal to the piece. I filter both when returning the resin to the bottle, and when filling the tank from the bottle. After filling the tank, I leave time for it to settle, then before each print, I slowly run the scraper across the film, so any grit from the last job, or any that got through the filter is moved to the edges. If you don't do this, you'll get failed prints, because the grit means the build plate can't get close enough to the film to ensure a properly connected first layer. If you don't catch failed prints quickly, there will be an awful lot of wasted resin, so it pays to keep an eye on them. It's a bit of a faff, but it hurts less than a failed print, and the filters are cheap compared with the cost of the resin that a failed print will consume.
It does stink. I use mine in a spare room which has the window open, and the door closed, and I don't use it when the wind is blowing towards that side of the house, otherwise the wind would only push the fumes into the house. Even with those precautions, the smell still fills the house. Whilst in the room, I always wear a 3M mask with VOC filters. If I didn't, I'd have a really bad headache.
I have an N scale model RR and bought an Anycubic Mono 4k with a wash and cure on sale. I also am no cool with removing the entire shield. I printed (on my FDM) a couple of knobs to attach to the top so I could remove with one hand. Printer is fine and I love the details, the Slicers/supports/etc are a big learning curve for me compared to FDM.
This has been incredibly useful for me understanding that this is the wrong printer for me to get. Thanks very much
Nero dude. seriously. you are an amazing communicator. you've turned this review into a very easy to understand resin print introduction. r8ing 8/8 m8 g8
Thank you, researching the resin and filament printers, I use 2 part resin in art so I know that drill and clean up, your showing the close up of models sold me lol what I need is not something I want to clean up filament surfaces lol
GREAT how to! I just bought this printer and accessories on Amazon Prime day saved like 40%, can't wait to get it going!!
Dirty ISO can be left in uv to cure all the resin left inside. It can then be filtered and reused.
I personally only print in resin when I have a paid job that REQUIRES resin. Either the resolution of details or the material requirements dictate it. I personally don't enjoy resin printing for the reasons you outlined in your video. Thanks again for the great video!
Love the models they can produce (balrog baby!) and I've continually toyed with getting into resin, but the smell, mess, post processing and toxicity always put off for me and so after getting teased with the cheap prices on them these days, window shopping on the net for an hour, adding up all the extras, I then cancel everything an go back to my FDM. Maybe next time I'll pull the trigger. ;)
I was in the same boat, except, I did purchase everything. Even taking all the precautions I really underestimated the smell. Even tried to make a DIY fume hood from grow tent, but its so much hastle to print anything, if you want to properly dispose all the things that touched resin. So it sat for a year without any use until I sold it.
Every time I do the same. Add a cart, see the total, close website.
Hahahahahah it's funny cause I do the exact same 😂
you sound like me. lol. adding to the shopping cart and then cancel everything.
PrusaSlicer is capable of resin slicing, and UVtools has reverse engineered many of the proprietary formats. It's a multistep process, but definitely possible to do high quality open source slicing.
I went into 3d printing blind with the anycubic, havent really had any issues
Removing the supports before wash is a great way to get tiny drops of resin everywhere as you're snapping them off. Wash the model with supports (preferably still on the bed), rinse in warm water, remove supports. I get that you're trying to save the ISO but it's not worth it. Also, maybe add a small lunch tray to the list of additional tools. They're thin and sturdy for sliding between the printed model and the vat then just keep it under the model as you remove the build plate to move it to the wash station.
Also, make sure the return vent for your AC is not anywhere near your resin printer. I set mine up in the basement and quickly discovered that we have a second return vent in the basement. Took most of a day to get the smell out of every room in the house . . .
I find resin interesting but I generally need size and mechanical properties more than extreme detail. Besides, resin in a small apartment just sounds like a nightmare.
I only got into resin printing because the people I worked with were really into Warhammer and they would pay me stupid money for batches of figurines for them to paint.
GamesWorkshop laywers hate this one trick
@@CanuckCreator I mean, I don't think I was breaking any licenses or anything. They bought the models, I printed them.
One thing I highly suggest everybody add to their kit are safety glasses. Splashes WILL happen and getting resin in your eyes is bad news.
Agreed. I once got a drop of paint stripper in my eye. Ever heard a grown man scream like a little girl before?
how bad??
@@HR-yd5ib I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that it would blind you, have you seen the burns people got when they spill it on themselves?
Haha I can appreciate the PPE at the start. Yes it was overboard but was also funny too.
Alot of the people I talk to do either fdm or both. Not many exclusively do resin. If you do table top games you need both resin for minis and fdm for map structure
I was printing on a v2.4, then sold it and bought saturn 2 and now printing exclusively on it. The reason is simple, I mainly print stand figurines that I paint, in this scenario I dont really need an fdm machine.
unlike your regular FDM printer, you gotta level the bed manually, stir the resin and stuff that makes it so you HAVE to be at the printer anyway so having wifi is not a necessity and mostly used to monitor the printer's status
I must have a smelling problem, as I don't smell a thing when I use resin, its' been really worrying me because everyone goes on and on about it but I don't experience that.
LOL, nah dude you depicted quite accurately. Hell, now I want a gas mask like yours!
I bought a resin printer and all the accompanying gear several months ago, and … I have yet to print anything for all the reasons you cited. When I really need some object that I can only achieve with resin, I will finally use it. Anyway, after looking at all the options I did get an AnyCubic printer, so I am sure it will be a good experience overall (or at least as good as a resin printing experience can be). Thanks for the thorough review of the whole shebang.
If you have not even tried. How would you know his arguements are correct?
Lame
What about curing the alcohol vat, without a 3d print in it off course, then strain it and then throw away the chunks. Try it.
Exactly! Recycle the alcohol and no toxic uncured resin waste
Couple notes on water washable resin and handling prints.
Just because it's water washable, doesn't mean it's safe to dump down the drain, it's almost more of a pain than IPA, benefit is no ipa smells and headaches.
Resin, even cured, isn't 100% safe to handle, because it's brittle rubbing your hands and nails on it can pull off surface microplastic dust which is nasty stuff. It's fine for display and handle occasionally, but I would say not make a face mask and wear it unless it's primed and painted.
Ome thing to add: many resins are very brittle when printed. It's very easy to accidentally snap off small details like an arrow, or a nose, or a leaf, even an arm. So if you get the weaker resins: be very careful when handling the cured print. I personally use ABS like resin.
Lastly: painting. Use a good primer, use thin acrylic paints, but most importantly when you're done painting your model seal with a UV protective clear coat sealer. If you let your models get exposed to more UV, they will discolor, paint will peel, and they will become more brittle.
Thank you man, this was very helpful. I’m brand new with this stiff.
I love resin printing, but I feel compared to filament based it's more of a niche, at least with the hobby overall. For those like me who paint miniatures, a resin printer is oh so invaluable, because it lets me print things that traditional miniature companies either won't touch due to perceived lack of ability to recoup their investment, or because their manufacturing methods just can't do it without super complicated molds (or breaking it into six billion parts). I personally love my resin printer, even though it's a royal pain to get things out of, simply because of all the extra work involved, and how I'm swapping over to having two separate curing machines so that I can have a "dirty" tank and a "clean" tank of isopropyl. Reason for that is trying to filter the resin out of 6L of isopropyl is an interesting endeavour, so with a second smaller machine it would be a lot easier to follow a process I do with my painting water (aka transfer it into smallish containers, let it settle for a few days, then in this case either go directly for curing it, or skim the cleaner stuff off the top and then run what's left through a curing cycle).
But yeah, dealing with disposal of contaminated isopropyl is a "fun" thing because there isn't exactly an easy process to do this, as it requires a trip to a waste disposal facility, and containers to safely carry it to said disposal site.... Hence why I'm looking at ways of hopefully being able to just outright cure it into blocks, and then dispose of the now non-liquid and cured excess resin through more traditional means.
Editing to add... Got any leads for a resin mat like the one you've got? Such seems like it would be a lot nicer than the current silicon baking dishes I picked up from Canadian Tire...
Very informative and quality video. Thank you, i'm waiting for my x2 arive so i can try to print.
But, i struggle to find some usefull info about printing very small pieces, mostly how to clean them, how to cure them, i ordered wash and cure also, but, every information is about larger pieces or models, what about very small (few mm, 1cm) pieces? wash station is uselles in that case, so, what is left, some jar with ipa, or?
Also, placement of printer, is there any harm if it's next to window (no direct sunlight)? After printing, i clean printer, and it wait for next one, i dont plan to print every day?
Hey Nero ! Have you seen The Prometheus MSLA :) ? It's the first MSLA 3D printer that is 100% open source. It's like the Voron of resin because you build it yourself :O !
Very honest review gained a sub
3D printing isn't a hobby for me. It's one of my tools for other hobbies. I use my printers for model railways, and locomotives, rolling stock and figures printed using FDM usually look awful, but in resin they can be great. I'm currently doing test prints using FDM, with the aim of producing the finished models in resin, so aim to minimise the use of my resin printer to cut down on all the nasty stuff. I've got a dedicated room for all my CNC machines (got a laser and router too), and want to get the machines that produce nasty fumes and smoke properly vented to outside before using them much. I also want to get a well organised resin setup, so I can do all the messy stuff quickly, cleanly, efficiently and safely
For functional parts I mostly use FDM, but if I can't get away from needing weird geometry that would require unreasonable amounts of support or has a lot of small features I switch to resin.
For miniatures and models I pretty much only use resin.
Both have good applications.
its strange that Resin is not more open with regard to slicing, You would think since they are all using screens or even DLP both are derived from video technology meaning odds are the slice output is a B&W image put on the screen or projected by the DLP that the data structure of that could be universal like gcode.
They almost all use motherboards from the same brand who intentionally added the limitation.
I appreciate the mentioning of slicer programs as very few YT channels address slicers when doing reviews of 3d resin printers.
One of the lingering questions I have is what would the requirements be to operate a slicer program properly?
My home computer is a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 and I'm older than dust lol (born in 1955).
So I'm unsure if it will be adequate to operate a slicer program or not.
That sounds like an old machine. I would go into best buy and tell them you want a gaming capable computer. Expect to spend anywhere from $600 for a budget machine to around $2000 for top-end.
But generally speaking slicers use the CPU heavily. So I would get a top end CPU in your machine. Intel I-9 13 Gen.
It's about time people talk about the dangers of resin printing ✌️
I won't lie... This video scared me. My brother has gifted me his Anycubic PM X 2 - because it turns out he was allergic to the resin and was *very* poorly for a couple of weeks!!! ...Anyway, I am keen to try resin as small detail and texture is something I am keen to capture in some of my prints. BUT, I am hanging on to my Flashforge Adventurer 3 for all my other 3D jobs. I am now very nervus about setting up and using the Anycubic when it arrives!
Can I leave uncured minitures in a shaded box adn then cure them after I have done 3-4 batches over a couple days?
I got a mars 3 it came with clippers 2 spatulas and a few gloves. I got some gloves from the store. I got 2 tupperware with ipa for a dirty and clean wash curing could be done by the sun but i got a box lined the inside with aluminum taoe and a string of uv lights. I use 3-4 sheets of paper towels per print i also keep an elegoo air purifier going when printing i keep my peinter in my front room by my computer. Not that big of a deal
I bought this printer a few weeks ago and I am struggling with any print that requires supports. Would you mind sharing your resin and support settings?
I thought about getting a resin printer to make detailed heads for figures. I can make the bodies with my filament printer
my photon mono x2 is also warped out of the box. It's so annoying and doesn't create a full seal for my fume extraction system. Any way to fix this?!?
Im happy my printer basically worked right out of the box
I'm looking at resin for miniature gaming content that I can't use FDM to print trying to find the best option atm looking at the mars 2 8k have u done a review on that 1?
Great video. Resin prints are amazing, but they have their own use case. Mostly, a FDM printer has more than enough detail for a typical print, but when you want to do the detailed stuff, you can't beat a resin printer. The small figures and parts for scale models use are really the bread and butter of resin printing. But the mess and handling of toxic stuff that's involved in resin printing is something you have to think about. I don't know if enclosing it in a cabinet with a active carbon fume extractor like a Voron would be sufficient.
The other thing is the closed source nature of most of the resin printer market. When people scuff over the open vs closed source debate of Bambu vs Prusa in the FDM market, I encourage them to look at the situation with resin printers and the Chitu Jail you're in. Except the Prusa SL1S resin printer. That's open source and can be used with Prusa Slicer.
I was working in 3D printing company back in 2015 and we had custom made DLP printers that used projectors instead of screens. Only protection we used was gloves. I think all of the waste was goign to sink…. I was only software developer and made a slicer there and pretty much was breathing the resin 8h a day, so here goes my cancer in future. I can say that I’m suprised that there are not many resin slicers nowadays.
Have tried both ... will never go back to filament printing. The quality of resin printing is just not comparable. With the anycubic photon M5s you can print figures 1/72 and see all details. Even 1/300 returns meaningful results. Yes its a bit messy and smelly but really not all that bad. We have a shed in the garden so that makes things easier.
Great video, wonder what your support settings are if I ripped mine off like that it prob take her head with it lmao!
I like how "relatively simple"=something I've done before.
Why else is replacing the weed eater string is considered easier than wiping down the vat and refilling it.
Regardless, this is a helpful video!
Oh dear... at around 13:50 you say "some resins are water-soluable, you can wash them in a sink..." PLEASE people - ALL uncured resins are toxic to plant and animal life and not removed by water reclamation facilities. DO NOT put uncured or liquid resin down any drain going outside your home, even water-washable or "eco" resins. They are still toxic, with the only difference being where the polymers come from, but the UV activators will kill a boatload of fish in no time. Also, if you're on a septic system, you're only making yourself sick.
Otherwise, enjoyable video. Thanks, Nero!
Thank you!
so you want to do resin printing? Step 1 - look at all of the Elegoo printers. Step 2 - don't buy any of them.
I wish you tested tolerances and accuracy. I wanted a resin printer for z strength and detailed projects with Syria tech resin
Very good video. One point you didn’t mention and it is the worst in my opinion in Resin prints is that they are very brittle to the point that they are impractical in a lot of cases.
There are engenering resign with stronger properties.
That was very informative. Thank you!
That intro got you a sub, great video friend
Do you sell the resin Iron Man?
What about a High end FDM printer with a premium, diamond, made in Japan 0.15mm nozzle?
Still won't give you the same detail as a $200 resin printer
What is with PrusaSlicer about Open Source??
The biggest issue with resin printers is this. How do you evacuate the gases ? And then there is all the mess, cleaning, post processing, safety equipment and so on. What about all those chemicals ? IPA is highly flammable and really bad for your health just like the resin is ? How do you store that crap ? You need a chem lab for that shit.
Very informative. Thank you!
Hey! What was that opening sequence?!?
When doing live premier UA-cam uses a few different pre made preroll countdowns
@@CanuckCreator wow! It resembles Pacific Rim.
i think if your a person who is looking to print figures resin is a must just wear ppe and everything should be fine
I'm interested in Resin but have no use for it. I use FDM for functional parts. My understanding is that resin should not be used for that and is best used for things like models.
Great video! Thank you!
TY now I know that FDM is just enough for me ;)
Outstanding intro, thanks
Missed opportunity to slice in Grant from 3D Musketeers saying "Resin in toxic"
Also I have yet to figure out how to dispose of the ISO, so I've just got my waste in old containers.
Set it in the sun for a few minutes and the resin in it cures. Then either let it fully evaporate, or burn it.
Leave it in clear container in the sun, let it cure the resin, filter the resin out, reuse the iso.
If you truly want to dispose of the iso, just leave it outside to evaporate and dispose of any leftover resin.
That requires you to live somewhere with sun :p
@@calebr4961 hahahaha
But in case you're not joking, you can use whatever UV light you use to cure on it. The sun would just be cheaper.
Its like airbrushing, you need to set up to vent the miasma that will kill you due to the activity. Its that simple. Solve that issue and you should be fine.
You're technically getting paid for keep the printer. I'll always prefer unsponsored reviews better
Doing fully self funded unsponsored reviews unfortunatly is basically not financially viable for most, is what it is
I really want to like resin, but I can't stand the post processing and mess.
yes it is worth it cause it seems like its alot of work but once you get used to each step its easy considering the results with resin 3d printing
Man, this guy will make getting up in the morning sound like a tedious job.
You made me realise I don't have enough space to get a resin printer 😢 one day maybe
To the MOP gear!
Never ever ever under any circumstances do you wash any uncured resin in your sink for any reason. The uncured resin is toxic and should be treated as such. Always treat resin as a hazardous material and dispose of properly.
3:15 Half-Life 3 of Nozzles spotted in the wild.
Geez, even tho fdm is not void of all these tiny microsteps and materials needed to just START to print, and I do actually enjoy the challenge of everything involved to get to the start point, resin has something to me that really kills my interest in even attempting it. It seems this is the same for alot of us here commenters. All the power to you if resin printing is your main gig, I do think it is an amazing and unique and mind-blowing piece of technology, just not in my wheelhouse. Maybe someday, but keep on printing whatever format that is 👍
I bought my first resin printer two years ago and the original outgoings was expensive but i only now pay for cleaning alcohol about 4lts every 6 months a bottle of resin around 30 pounds and cheal cleaning wipes and even with all this i still have saved a fortune with the files that i have printed full armys and large statues.
I also have two FDM printers and i prefer Resin for detail and FDM for 1 to 1 scale cosplay weapons or bases or large statue parts.
The results i found is there is a outgoing cost with both types of hobbie and its up to the individual to make that decision not someone who is making a review of this machine for their channel you also didn't say that you have to print FDM filerment in a dry area with no windows open and you need to store the filerment in sealed airbags and some filerment you can only print in enclosed areas most modern printers come with built in extractor systems and are enclosed so to reduce the smell.
You know how to get that gas mask on with a convincing familiarity. Bravo
resin being a sensitizer and with how slope all the printers manage it. I cant be bothered. The smell stops me from printing much abs even
I tried ABS recently with mixed results. My first print was a success, after that everything was a disaster. I couldn't smell a thing at first, I thought everyone had been exaggerating, but then I noticed being near the printer for too long made me feel queasy. I'm used to strong organic solvents because I'm a tradie, so I guess I have been desensitized. One thing is for sure, I have enough experience with epoxy and polyester resin to know that I absolutely hate the stuff, especially polyester resin, that stuff is seriously vile.
lolll bambu lab is too insane. but FDM or SLA that 2 differente resault
Nero knows: Resin is Toxic!
The quality of resin cannot be matched, but the amount of hassle, consumables, and post processing needed to get the part really turns me off from trying it
It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. You do not spontaneously wilt and die when in the direct vicinity of liquid resin. Everyone treats it like nuclear waste. My issue is the auto supports do not work, you have just blast prints with your own.
@@davidharris5045 Of course it's not spontaneous that's rarely a concern it's more about toxic accumulation, chemical sensitivity and long term health risks that are an unknown at this point. I worry the people with a laissez-faire attitude towards resin are going to really regret it years down the line, I've already heard plenty of stories of people developing chemical sensitivity to the point they can't be around it all anymore, my attitude with anything toxic is better safe than sorry.
Been doing filament based printing for about 3 years now. Gave resin a try a few years ago and just found that unless I was going to run off a bunch of prints at once the post processing just wasn't worth it. I did print some amazing things with it but mostly found the effort involved deterred me from using it much.
What happens in the print room stays in the print room
both are cool.
Resin, IMHO, is extremely niche. I personally use my 3d prints for more engineering based tasks and not really for making trinkets and models (Except for Benchies, obviously). I find that I can very quickly and easily draft up a specific item that I need in Fusion360, slap it into cura, and just print. 2-30 hours later, my item is ready for use as soon as the print stops. When youre doing rapid prototyping and testing multiple designs back to back, all the extra steps required with resin just take up too much time and effort. Especially when the part needs to be tweaked in some way, and the print gets thrown away.
Also, my models off the FDM machine do not randomly start leaking resin that was trapped in the print because of an improperly placed, or nonexistant drain hole.
Great video that confirmed the reasons I avoid resin printing. The detail is great, but One thing i'm surprised you didnt touch on: Resin printing really doesnt lend itself as well to functional and end use prints as FDM. Resin simply isnt as strong as even something like ABS; thats without even talking about higher end engineering materials/polymers and carbon/glass fibre loaded filaments. nowhere near the range of colours and other physical attributes, like flexible filaments etc.
Yep. But you don't use resin for functional parts. You use it for high details. That's why mostly people who print miniatures use them.
Lights Stopped working after 3 months & Customer service have told there are not replacement parts available fro this printer, Be Warned!
Dust masks are useless because you need a gas mask to filter properly the toxic resin fumes. However their concentration is low so a well ventilated area and air filters should do the trick
So VOCs are not unique to Resin Printing so both Resin Printing and FDM printing require the same PPE or considerations when it comes to the lungs. Namely well ventilated area to flush out the area of VOCs if that is not available a respirator mask can help but long term exposure is still a problem so you need to keep it in an isolated area. And you definitely want to wear a mask that can filter out fine particulates when doing FDM. A lot of people seem to think that since FDM doesn't smell that it's safe. I really wish people would be as careful with FDM as they are with Resin because in a few years there are going to be a lot of people with lung problems from the particulates and VOCs form FDM because they do not take enough precaution. "3D Printing-Induced Fine Particle and Volatile Organic Compound Emission: An Emerging Health Risk" compiles data from a bunch of studies. And that Data shows FDM producing similar levels of VOCs as Resin while having particulates levels that are very high.
I have to say, with a year experience, that resin printing is not even 5% as much of a hassle as this lad implies.
ok you talked me out of trying 3d printing at all so fuck it!
k
Nice MOPP suit