2mo ago

New Elegoo Mars 3 - any advice for getting into resin

Here is my brand new (second hand) Elegoo Mars 3 printer.

I've had some experience with FDM but this is my first time with resin.

Current progress:

Brought a VOC face mask and nitrile gloves. Do I need UV glasses?
ordered soy based resin and a wash/cure station
installed and found chitubox slicer isn't great
don't understand plug drilling and hollowing
plan to paint mimi's from it. Advice on painting resin?

I know some of this is basic but I felt it might promt interesting conversation.

12 comments

Get silicone mats for your work surface. There’s always dripping and it’s hard to clean up, so you just cute it on the mat and bend it off later.
Hollowing is like infill in fdm, it saves you resin. (But not time, since resin cares about the number of layers, not the amount of resin used. )
But once you hollow, you will trap liquid resin inside the part, so having a hole that your wash fluid can get in and clean the inside of the part is a good idea.
Since print time is based on the number of layers, it takes the same time to print one mini as it does to print a plate filled with minis (of the same height)
Some kind of eye protection is a good idea. Splashes of resin and clipping supports can flick resin and such into your eyeholes.

I hope you like this I am looking at getting the jupiter. Could you please give like a week or so of after in using it. I wont be using it for minis but large form things in resin. I hope this goes well for you.

If you have it next to an open window for ventilation, you can put a paper shopping bag or something over the cover to block uv light without blocking the fan.
Removing supports before curing the mini will leave the least amount of bits behind.
I recommend translucent resin; in my experience it cures better especially if you have a larger model that needs to be hollowed.
Only bother hollowing if you have more than a dime's* width of void in the model, and obviously make sure you have a hole to vent gas that would otherwise build up inside. (* no science to this, just my rule of thumb)
On holes: they don't need to be big, just make sure they are large enough to not be sealed by resin that accidently isn't washed off and then cured. (Definitely not something I've done no no)
Painting is fun, maybe start with cheaper brushes until you get a feel for resin models. If you are accustomed to painting plastic models, you will be surprised at the wear and tear the layer lines inflict on your bristles.

You also probably want to put the resin printer in a well ventilated area, as resin printers can also release particles into the surrounding air (and you really don't want to be breathing that in)
- I've got a plan to put it next to a room with a window. Not sure how the curtains might block that as I think I need those to block the light. Maybe a fan to push air out.
  
  Vent system would be important IMO. One option is a 4" duct with an inline fan, put the printer and wash stations in a box or vent hood of some kind and vent that outside.

Uv glasses aren't really needed as uv is only really exposed when printing at whibh point the resin and build plate will cover the uv source plus the printer cover should be uv filtering.
Painting resin minis is the same as painting any other I've found other than they can be more brittle so you've got to be a little more gentle but it's not a big issue.
- You can mix in a product like Tenacious resin to give them a little more flexibility to resist breaking
  
  As in mix resins? Do you have any more info on this? I'm interested.

Do I need UV glasses?
No. Gloves are a good idea, probably a respiratory too and open air circulation like opening a few windows. But a face shield and UV glasses are overkill.
Just... don't be sloppy and careless.
ordered soy based resin and a wash/cure station
I didn't know "soy based resin" was a thing. The wash/cure station is definitely a winner. Highly recommended.
installed and found chitubox slicer isn't great
Never used it before. I'm stuck using Anycubic's proprietary slicing software which is ok'ish. It gets the job done and prints ok.
don't understand plug drilling and hollowing
Yeah so this is a unique thing for resin printers to deal with, especially with larger prints. It is entirely possible to print an object and have liquid resin sealed up inside a hollow print. Curing can't penetrative deep enough to cure the trapped resin inside. It becomes a "time bomb" for eventual breaks and leakage.
Some slicing software recognizes this issue and allows you to place a hole somewhere on the print to allow trapped resin to drain out.
But since you're printing minis, it's not really something you have to be concerned about. Minis are...well... mini and thus not hollow.
A bit of advice for a new resin user: No matter how well prepared you think you are to contain messes, spills, droplets, etc, you will make a mess. It's inevitable so plan accordingly and keep tons of paper towers at the ready.
As to painting, I'm not quite there yet. I just print them, cure them, and play with them as is.

12 comments