Newbie problems

[jon_bondy]

I am not new to 3D printing (FDM) but I'm new to resin.

The kit went together fine (too bad the instructions were not updated for the new parts: I now have to disassemble and reassemble the whole printer).

I printed the calibration object with 9 pins, only about 5 of which appeared (but they were perfect). I guess this means I have the exposure reasonably close. The projected image is larger than the build plate by quite a lot, and it is not centered. So long as I only use the center of the build volume, I expect I will be OK.

Since then, nothing has worked: no prints at all.

Bed leveling was not possible: I got close (piece of paper goes under the "up" side, but with resistance.

I removed the build plate and sanded it after the above worked fine, but that has not helped.

I poured the unused resin into a cup and wiped/rinsed/dried the petri dish in the sink (water) and then poured the unused resin back into the petri dish, to attempt to reuse it. I found some pieces of cured resin in the unused resin, and removed them. Not sure if this was a mistake.

Not sure how to tell when the petri dish needs to be renewed.

Not sure if I should attempt to reuse unused resin

Confusing that the first print adhered to the unsanded build surface, but now will not adhere to the sanded surface.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have

Jon

[goopyplastic]

We will get you going don't worry.

Sorry about the instructions, these are technically left over Kickstarter kits, so the Kickstarter specific instructions apply sorry if that wasn't clear.

Which projector are you using?

5 of the 9 pins sticking would be indicative of an unlevel build plate or low cure time (the projectors can be uneven).

If you installed the mirror holder without the spacers it will change how centered the projected image is on the plate. Also some amount of image being larger than the build plate is normal, this is still usable area just not for the base layers.

We should look at bed leveling first, if you loosen the 4 screws holding the metal z arm to the linear rail car the arm can rotate a little. I first un-tighten the leveling screws so they are in an nuetral position, then loosen the 4 screws holding the metal z arm to the lienar rail car. Then lower the Z arm to the petri surface. The z arm should be able to better level in regards to the petri now because it is loose. Tighten the metal z arm then fine tune the leveling with the leveling screws.

Water doesn't work well for me to clean resin, some of the resin will clump if you do this and make a sticky mess of the pdms. If you use IPA it will be easier. Also uncurred resin is a danger to aquatic life so I recommend keeping your rinse liquids / resins etc. in a HDPE container and letting it sit outside to cure / evaporate.

Pieces of cured resin floating around from the printing process is normal, you may find it helpful to strain the resin if pouring back into the original bottle. Madesolid also tends to separate and clump in contact with IPA.

The silicon surface will start to fog as it gets damaged, a light fog is ok, but a heavier fogging is a sign it should be renewed.

You can re-use unused resin, straining it might be helpful as described above.

Prints should ahere to a sanded surface better in my experience. Leveling the build plate and using longer base layer times will help it stick better.

Hope this helps let us know how this goes.

[jon_bondy]

Thanks for your help!

I am using an Acer H6510BD projector

I guess I will have to disassemble the printer to get those spacers on the mirror holder. I will also loosen the linear rail and see if that produces better bed leveling.

I'll check back after I've done the above.

[goopyplastic]

You shouldn't have to loosen the rail, but the 4 bolts that hold the folded metal arm to the rail carriage. There should be some play in the bolt holes so that the arm can move around a little while loose.

[jon_bondy]

I loosened the 4 screws that hold the build plate assembly to the linear rail, and allowed the build plate to adjust to the petri dish before re-tightening the screws.

I also removed the mirror assembly and re-assembled with the nuts and washers between the mirror assembly and the petri dish holder; the shutter now fits. The screws that hold the petri dish down are now just barely long enough. The image from the projector is no longer centered in X (!), but I have enough projected image on the build plate to proceed.

Since then, I have been able to print things reliably. I changed my process so that after I push the build plate down by hand, I also turn the lead screw to be sure that the build plate is solidly against the petri dish. That may have helped.

I created a simple calibration cube 10 mm x 10 mm with 1 mm walls. That has been very useful. I tried to attach the STL file, but STL files are not permitted as attachments on this forum.

Seems like things are working now. Thanks for the encouragement!

Jon

[jon_bondy]

What does "no slicing file, cannot begin build" mean. A web search failed to come up with anything. I cannot slice now.

[jon_bondy]

Restarted the software, and the "no slicing file" error message went away