First print , newbie , major problem

Forum dedicated to discussion and technical support centered around the LittleRP affordable, open source 3D resin printer.
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jonman_t
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:54 am
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First print , newbie , major problem

Postby jonman_t » Thu Jun 01, 2017 1:54 pm

When I go to print , I get nothing at all. Nothing stuck to the build plate and nothing in the vat. The projector lights up during every layer and the build plate moves between every layer.

Some description;

I bought and assembled this unit myself and had a fairly hard time. Followed instructions from the littlerp technical site. Some instructions seemed to be from a different version of the littlerp printer. This made it very difficult. I also have a flexvat which I have had no instructions on , I just kinda winged it. So we cant rule out that some part of the build was wrong. The projector is an Acer h6510bd. No mods on it. There is a manual focus which I have tried to print with , once on each extreme of this focus , both with same results. I am using creation workshop and the exposure numbers for SubSF red from the littlerp tech site. SubSF red is the resin that came with my printer.


What I have tried;

I have levelled the machine. I can confirm that the build late is moving up and down. I can confirm that the projector light intensifies greatly during each layer. I don't really have a reliable way to see if the image is aligned onto the build plate. But my best observations is that it is. Also , I cannot find information on how much resin to put into my vat. Is there a wrong amount to put in? Would it cause this problem? Also , I've read somewhere to manually put my build plate firmly against the vat film to start each print. But I cannot find where I saw this. So did I imagine this? Is this wrong? Could this be the issue? I also cannot find much help on this site because the search feature doesn't work. It just keeps saying that my search words are too common and doesn't populate a list of results.

Guys , Any help for a complete noob would be appreciated. Thanks in Advance , If you require more info Please don't hesitate to ask.

hirenashra
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2016 3:25 am
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Re: First print , newbie , major problem

Postby hirenashra » Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:53 pm

Is your mirror blue in colour? If so, you've got the protector on. Peel it off! Sounds like a basic error but it can happen to the best of us. Lol.

Vulwulf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 5:33 pm
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Re: First print , newbie , major problem

Postby Vulwulf » Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:38 am

Hirenashras suggestion sounds like a real possibility, I forgot to take off my blue protective film too but thankfully not before a print, only when I'd mounted the projector too close to get my fingers in.

As a fellow noob to this as well I'll try to answer your other questions.

Assuming you have the littleRP2 this is the page a link supplied in the box should have taken you to I think, it contains variations of build guides:

https://github.com/goopyplastic/littler ... /README.md

I can't speak for the projector, I don't think yours needed modding but I'm only going off memory. This image is of my printer and your projection should look like this on the bottom of your vat:
20170604_152254.jpg


I found that I had to have slightly higher exposure time for my resin than it suggests but I was using makerjuice waxcast, you may have to experiment, it took near a week for mine to get quality prints.

A wrong amount of resin I guess would be so much that it rises too high when the plate goes in. I put quite a lot in on my first time and just used it up over time. It shouldn't cause the problem unless I'm mistaken.

I read on a blog (https://callmevice.com/2016/02/03/the-l ... ted-guide/ some useful info there but for the old little RP, still relevant since he uses a flexvat.) that the build plate should be placed down manually but the thread of the motor can be twisted between finger and thumb for smaller movement. The plate should push down into the vat and then be raised maybe a quarter turn or less. It'll take a couple of trys maybe. Try turning on the projector with the blank screen button pressed in creation workshop, then look under the vat, you can see how close/taut the build plate and vat is, this should also help show if the entire projected image aligns with the build plate. The low light levels shouldn't cure anything in this short time or if you're​ worried do it dry.

Yes the search feature sucks, and I don't understand why it won't work either, this forum being only a few pages long I just skim all the topics or make a new post. The community here is really helpful but not always active, it may take a few days before your issue is fully resolved.

Hope that helps somewhat, I've only been doing this a short time too and this is my first time using a 3d printer, best of luck.

goopyplastic
Posts: 236
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:16 pm
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Re: First print , newbie , major problem

Postby goopyplastic » Mon Jun 05, 2017 12:17 am

"I don't really have a reliable way to see if the image is aligned onto the build plate"

One thing that will help immensely is looking through the mirror underneath the build plate. The included dark grey filter glass will let you look at the projected image without hurting your eyes. When dialing everything in, it's useful to look through the mirror to make sure the build plate is all the way down and leveled. Assuming the resin you are using is colored, where the buildplate touches the acrylic window you will see less resin and more aluminum (like a magic 8 ball) You don't really want to see any resin on the buildplate for the first layer.


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