Water wash resins

ddmckee54 · Aug 18, 2023

I've been threatening/wanting to get a resin printer, but one of the biggest things that keeps me from doing it is the smell of the resin. I've heard that the water wash resins have a more tolerable smell. Anybody with first hand experience want to tell me if this is true or not?

Don

lee webster · Dec 20, 2023

Hi Don. Just found this thread in the listing and I'm not sure if I replied to it or not. I've been using my resin printer with water washable resin for over a year now. The smell is almost non-existant. I use IPA to wipe the FEP film, and water to wash the print. The IPA is a much stronger smell than the resin.
I do find that the prints are prone to warping, I wonder if it is just me or a feature of W/W resin?

ddmckee54 · Dec 27, 2023

I think that can be a feature of all resins. There is some speculation that the print needs to be supported, even after the initial UV curing, because the interior of the print in not fully cured yet. The interior of the print is still relatively soft and will want to sag to follow the contours of the surface the print is setting on. I don't know what you can do to stop this, except maybe not removing the supports for an extended period?

lee webster · Dec 27, 2023

Good suggestion. Next time I print something I will leave it attached to the build plate for a day.

ddmckee54 · Dec 28, 2023

Don't know if I would leave it on the build plate for an extended period, might be harder to get it off the plate after that. Maybe try to take the print and the supports off the plate in one piece, and then be sure to set that on a flat surface.

mrehmus · Dec 28, 2023

A solid print is fully cured. A hollow print does need to be cured inside unless, as I found out, you want it to pop open later on. I made a UV curing light with a UV LED, a 1/8" brass tube, and a printed enclosure on the other end to hold a power connector. It works fine to cure the interior bits.

Here is one unit I made. It is a UV LED powered by a 9-volt battery with a very small power regulator inside the large diameter portion of the unit.
The body of the unit was 3D printed and has two wires running through the small diameter of the unit. I made this back in 2018 and it works quite well.